Nine-Two-One
by H8orade
Summary: With Nicholas Wilde and Judy Hopps officially working as partners in the ZPD, the two officers are sent to Sahara Street to investigate a series of graffiti taggings. But they realize the graffiti ties into something larger. What do the two officers find out is going on in the underbelly of Zootopia?
1. Chapter 1

Nick Wilde was staring into his mirror. Admiring himself? Of course. But also trying to get his police uniform looking _just_ right. Not by any uniform standards of course. He'd already known all of those, and he had already decided that he was done with trying to make his uniform absolutely top of the line as soon as he got out of the academy. No, Nick was going for a look that would give him a kind of roguish charm, something to show that he was a good guy in blue, but he was not exactly pocket-protector uptight. Like Chief Bogo was at times.

Part of the reason was that was just him. He couldn't exactly go around in his classic hawaiian shirt and tie anymore, and he still wanted to look like himself. But other than self-expression, there may have been a bit of a deeper reason. He, perhaps, had wanted to look good for Judy. As much of a sly, sarcastic, and easygoing fox he was, he did have to admit, something about that rabbit just… what was the word… dropped his defenses. He felt comfortable around her. And he thought she was a nice girl, very nice. She'd saved his life in more ways than one. Was he perhaps attracted to her? Beyond a reasonable doubt. And perhaps this rogue persona was his attempt to keep her attracted to him.

In any case, he'd unbuttoned a couple of the top buttons of his uniform, smoothed out his tail a bit, applied a little bit of cologne to his neck (as he still lived in the shoddy basement of a warehouse, and he still slept in a drawer, he needed some strong stuff to mask it), and walked into the service elevator and out of the hangar door of his warehouse with his uniform and weapon, stepping out of the complex into the sunny, warm, and dry air of Savannah Square, heart of Zootopia, putting on his classic mirrored shades, the final touch to his uniform, which masked those globes so crucial to figuring out one's true emotions, the eyes.

It was a bit of a walk from the run down warehouse he was living in to the bullpen, but Nick had gotten up early enough to make it into the station with about ten minutes to spare. Walking up to the front desk with that classic sly grin of his, he looked up to Clawhauser, who appeared to be eating a donut at the moment.

"Clawhauser, what's the breakfast today, man?"

"Mmh…" Clawhauser moaned, swallowing his doughnut before pulling one out of the box for Nick and tossing it to him. "Devil's Food chocolate, with rainbow sprinkles."

"My man!" Nick said, reaching on his tip-toes over the desk to high-five the cheetah. "Knew I could count on you to pick up a good breakfast."

Nick closed his eyes, about to take a bite into the doughnut, before he opened his eyes for a moment. "Hey, uhh, Claws? Is there anything in there for Judy?"

"Of course! Glazed vanilla. Why do you ask?" Clawhauser mused, before forming a smirk and leaning forward on his paw, grinning at Nick. "Do you have a thing for Judy?"

Nick had actually been asked this twice before. He basically knew by this point that there was a mutual attraction between the two, but he was already good at hiding his emotions. He just leaned up against the desk and took a bite of the doughnut. "Well, I can't have her going out on an empty stomach. I'd have to pull more of the weight than I already do."

"Oh, so _you're_ the one who does most of the work now?" Judy said.

"Carrots!" He said, genuinely smiling, and taking off his mirrored shades. "Speak of the devil! Here. Take a doughnut" Nick said, tossing her the one Clawhauser picked up.

"Nick, always good to see you, the dumb fox pretending to be sly." Judy mused, giggling.

"Hmm, really? Because last I checked, _you_ were the one who needed _my_ help to crack the Nighthowler case." He said, grinning.

"Pure coincidence. Although, I'm glad I did need you."

"Oh, carrots. Always the heart warmer."

Clawhauser cooed at the two from behind his desk. "There is _no way_ you two don't have something going on."

"We're just friends, Clawhauser, that's it." Judy said, before taking a bite of her donut with a free hand.

"Mhm, okay, then why are you leaning up against him like that?"

Judy looked to her side and realized that she was, in fact, leaning up against her partner. "Oh - I - Uh, It's not like- You know what I think I'll just go to bullpen now"

"Nah, I don't mind. You bunnies are just touchy-feely." Nick said, taking another bite of his doughnut, smirking a bit as his eyes lit up.

"Yes! That is it. I was just doing what I do with all my friends!"

Clawhauser wasn't convinced. "Sure thing, lovebirds. Don't worry, I won't tell."

"In all seriousness though, Nick, we should get going to bullpen. Announcements are about to start. Don't wanna make Chief Bogo mad."

"You got it, fluff" Nick said, following her happy, energetic stride with his own cool and sly one.

The bullpen meeting started out normally enough. Chief Bogo stormed in, slammed the door behind him, and complained about how the mayor was probably up his tail about something. He gave everybody their assignments, before Nick and Judy were left on their own in the room.

"Officer Hopps, Officer Judy. There's been a recent spike in vandalism along Sahara street. You patrol that area. Photograph any taggings you find. The analysts will scan through and see if they can connect the taggings to any sort of gangs. Arrest any vandals you see. Respond to any emergencies if you can. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Judy said, moving to attention.

"You got it. Any places they seem to tag?" Nick asked, leaning against the leg of a table.

"No specific intelligence. Just reports. That's why you're being sent out. You two have good intuitions. If you think you find a connection, you have permission to radio me personally." Chief Bogo said.

Judy's ears perked up at this. It was incredibly rare when Bogo gave anyone permission to skip the chain of command like that and radio in Chief directly.

"Ah, come on now. It can't be _that_ big. Couple of teens go around and tag a few places. It's a punishable offense, yes, and we will punish it. But, it probably isn't exactly 3rd Street Saints material" Nick said, putting his shades back on. "Besides, looking at this case file, they tagged a storefront in broad daylight. Clearly, these animals are amateur material. You never tag in plain sight or broad daylight. If they'd had more experience- wait..." Nick said before his voice withered away for a second, realizing that if he went any further, he'd be confessing some vandalism he'd done in his younger years.

"You _do_ know you're in a building crawling with Law Enforcement, Officer Wilde."

"I didn't confess to anything, Chief. Anyway, Judy and I should probably get going" Nick said, grabbing Judy by the shoulder and dragging her out the door.

"One more thing, you two. Change out of your police uniforms. Wear a bulletproof vest underneath some civilian clothes. You'll be taking a disguised Crown Victoria onto Sahara Street. They don't exactly take kindly to police officers on Sahara Street. We've seen some very bad cases there. So yes, Nick-" Bogo said, laying down a five year old newspaper with the headline 'Three Cheetahs found tortured and near dead after brutal Prey Supremacist basement kidnapping'. "They're 3rd Street Saints material. I'd wager worse. You two watch your backs out there."

"Yes, sir" Judy said, taking the case file and walking out of the door, leaving Nick alone in the room.

"You got it, Chief" Nick replied, following suit.

"Not you, fox. I need to tell you one more thing" Bogo said, stopping the two before they got out the door. "I've been noticing the way you look at Judy. _And_ the way she looks at you. Keep it strictly professional at work. As for what you do on your downtime, I don't care. Now get out."

Nick's eyes widened for a second from awkwardness. "Uh- no, sir, it's not at all like tha-"

"Out. Now. I don't want to dwell on that awkward subject any longer."

"Of course, Chief." Nick said, walking out the door swiftly.

* * *

Nick hopped into the passenger's seat of the plain white Crown Vic five minutes after Judy in his classic Hawaiian shirt and tie, bulletproof vest underneath.

"What did Chief Bogo want, Nick?"

"Old heartless back there? He didn't want much. Nothing worth talking about, anyway."

Judy could tell _something_ was off about the situation. "Niiiiick" she sing-songed, leaning into him. "What are you not telling me?"

"Okay, sweet carrots, y'really wanna know?"

Judy giggled just a bit, punching his shoulder lightly. "Of course, you dumb fox!"

"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you, cottontail. Chief Bogo seems to think we are an item" Nick said nonchalantly, taking off his glasses, revealing his sly eyes.

"What! How did he know- Wait, that's not-"

Nick put a paw up to Judy's mouth as he grinned. "No need to try and hide it, Carrots. Remember this?"

The fox pulled out the carrot pen from one day earlier, and hit the play button on the recorder. " _You know you love me." "Do I know that? Yes. Yes I do."_

"You admitted it, fluff. I'm irresistable" Nick said, leaning his face up to her.

"I hate that pen. How'd you get a hold of it, anyway?"

"Basic patterns, cottontail. Whenever I'm being a dumb fox, you're being a sly bunny. And whenever you're being a dumb bunny-" He clicked the play button again. " _Do I know that? Yes. Yes I do."_ "-I'm being a sly fox."

"Well then, sly fox. Do you know you love me?"

Nick didn't stop grinning, but handed the carrot pen over. "I'll give this one to you, carrots. Yeah. I do know I love you."

Judy leaned her face into Nick's and gave him a quick kiss on the nose.

"That… felt really good. But… That's what Bogo had me coming in about. He wanted me to keep professional at work with you. Speaking of which, I can hear Bogo coming in from a mile away, and we still have a case to crack on Sahara street, so we should probably get going before he kills us both."

Judy looked at the clock on the dash of the Crown Victoria, and winced a bit. "Ooh, yeah, we should have been out a minute ago."

"Don't worry, fluffs. It's an undercover patrol. We are supposed to be a little loose anyway."

With that, they pulled out of the underground garage of the police station, starting to make their way to Sahara street, getting their game faces on.


	2. Chapter 2

Nick Wilde was staring at his case file. The taggings were all done in places that were meant to be seen. Clearly, this was a little more than obscure punk artist. Something about this screamed intent. In any case, the pair was about to reach their first tagging location.

"Hey, cottontail-" Nick said. "You think it'd be a little suspicious driving up and down sahara street in a white crown vic taking pictures? Because if I were ever a chain graffiti artist- _which I never have been-_ that would seem very suspicious to me."

"Nick, hon. I _know_ you were arrested for vandalism at the age of 11" Judy stated, a sly grin on her face.

"Wha- How did you-"

"It's called a hustle-" Judy said, pulling at his tie and pressing her nose against his. " _-sweetheart._ Clawhauser gave me your previous arrest file." Nick's face froze as he sat there, with his nose touching Judy's. "One arrest for vandalism, two for petty theft, and even one for Minor possession of alcohol. All at the age of eleven."

"The alcohol charge was when I was 15, Carrots. And it was barely even alcohol! The bastard who sold it to me had practically watered it down completely."

"An alcohol charge is an alcohol charge, Nick. But, to be fair, it may have been a bit rude of me to look that up."

The two continued driving in silence for a little while, before a very real question crossed Judy's mind.

"Nick… in the parking lot this morning, when you said you loved me… you- did you mean, _love_ love?"

Nick froze in the passenger's seat for a moment before sighing a bit. "I mean… We _have_ spent a lot of time together. And, well… you did turn me into an honest man. Well, as honest as I can be. But… Agh, this is awkward…"

"No, Nick…" Judy comforted, putting a paw on Nick's arm. "It's fine. You've got to let your feelings out sometimes." She said as she parked the cruiser in a backlot. "I've seen you wearing your shades, Nick. It's honestly a bit painful to watch, because I can tell you're hiding something."

"Hiding? Look, Judy, I told you everything. You remember the sky trolley?"

"New things come up, Nick. Look. You have a tendency to hide things, and I know that's hard to get rid of, especially if you've been doing it since you were eight. But you can be genuine around me, okay?"

Nick let out a small sigh before putting on his shades. "Okay, Judes. I'll… tell you later. But for now, the answer is yes. When I said I loved you…" Nick paused, taking a deep breath. "I meant love." Nick's ears flattened a bit. Looking down and away from Judy, he put his shades back on.

The fox abruptly undid his seatbelt and stepped into the hot, dry air of the backlot that was right off of Sahara Street, only one block away from their first tagging, leaving Judy flustered in the car for a moment. "Oh, Nick…" She muttered to herself, a bit saddened by what seemed to be pain coming from her partner. She had noticed that whenever Nick was being completely and totally honest with her, he always had a tone of pain to his voice. As if, deep down inside him, behind the part of him that really was sly and street smart, there were emotional wounds that hadn't healed yet. In any case, the two did have a case to solve, and time was of the essence. Judy sighed a bit, undid her seatbelt, and stepped out of the car, hopping alongside Nick.

"Okay, so we go check this tagging out, photograph it, radio it to Chief and see if anyone else has any sources as to what happened. Then we move on. Sound like a plan?" Judy asked.

"Mmm, except for one thing, carrots." Nick lifted up his Hawaiian shirt to reveal his bulletproof vest as he gestured to it. "Chief sent us into this part of town with civilian clothes and bulletproof vests. Not to mention nine-millimeter pistols. Clearly, cops aren't received too well in this part of town."

"So, what do you propose? False personas?"

"Yeah. Something easy to get away with. Perhaps… hmm… Dumb tourists from Bunnyborough?" Nick proposed, teasing his partner a bit.

"Ha ha, very funny. But you forgot something, dumb fox. A _dumb tourist_ from Bunnyborough would not stick around to take pictures of graffiti. In fact, there aren't many people who would. Only types I can think of who would do this are… wait a minute. Expose Journalists!"

"Oh, come on now, Carrots, this has to be-"

"No, no! If we say we're doing an article on Sahara Street, we could ask people questions without raising suspicion! It'd be out of place for Sahara street, for sure, but it'd be a lot more believable. We can say we're some sort of Muckrakers, looking to expose-"

"The dirty reality of Zootopia's underground!" Nick said, a look of revelation crossing his face. "Sly bunny!"

"Sly fox! Okay, that will work." Judy said excitedly, about to go onto the street before freezing. "Wait, what newspaper do we say we're working for, though? Most news stations wouldn't touch this area."

"Oh, I know just the one, Carrots" Nick said, pulling out his phone and scrolling to the left a few times. "MICE* news. They'll report on just about anything." He clicked the app, revealing (Much to Judy's shock) the headline ' **Nuclear Warheads on the Internet: How to Buy Mutually Assured Destruction** '. "Yeah, these guys went into a black market den to report on Nuclear Warheads. They talked to the seller, actually held parts of the nuclear warheads in their hands, and got out completely unscathed, even respected. Trust me, a run down Sahara street is nothing for these guys."

"Yeah, that's a good cover. We're both reporters from MICE news, looking to get a story on Sahara Street" Judy said to confirm the official story. "Nice work, Nick."

"Oh, please, cottontail. You flatter me. Now let's get going, we have a case to solve."

The two walked out of the backlot they had parked their car in, rounded the corner, and walked up to the first graffiti site, the Flying Fish seafood joint. It was a common hangout place for predators and carnivores on Sahara Street, a bar and grill where they could get some fish and crab with various beers and vodkas. They had salads and seaweed too for the prey animals, but herbivores weren't the shops most frequent customers. The bar was in very bad shape, though. The windows appeared to be barred, most likely having been the victims of various robberies. And right on the front door was the first tagging that Nick and Judy had come to investigate. Scrawled onto the door in dripping spray paint was the number "921". The nine and the two were in black, but the one was done in dripping red, a deep blood red.

"Sweet cheese and crackers. No wonder they have bars on the windows. Looks like the target of frequent crimes." Judy said, taking notes on a notepad. "Wonder what the significance of the graffiti itself is. It's not on the register of known gangs in the area. You got anything, Nick?"

"I used to eat here all the time, carrots. Finnick and I would come to grab a beer and some seafood here occasionally. It's got a lot of hardened predators inside. But I _do_ know the owner very well. He'll talk. As long as we don't arrest any of his patrons."

"What do you mean, arrest his patrons? Is it really anything that bad, Nick? It's just a bar."

Right as Judy said that, a tiger clad in a snapback, chains, sagging jean shorts, and a revolver stopped at the door of the establishment, turning around to look at the two.

"F*ck you two doin' 'ere?" The tiger said in a booming, aggressive tone.

"John Mosely, MICE news, this rabbit here is an intern. We're looking to do a story on Sahara Street. You go to this restaurant often?" Nick asked, pulling out a pen and a notepad. "You mind if I take some notes, by the way, Mr…."

"Name's Franklin. I _do_ mind if y'all take some notes, and I _do_ be goin' to this spot often. Wha'chu askin' fo', _fox_?"

"Well, Mr. Franklin, my intern and I are just wondering about the condition of this bar, and the reason for the bars on the windows. Particularly, about that spraypaint on the door. Somebody called in to our news station saying that '921' sign has been popping up a lot lately."

"Hey man, look. This place be gettin' robbed on the reg. 'Parently, there some beef 'tween Sanchez and some new gang sendin' crews on this street."

"Hmm, okay…" Judy said, examining the Tiger a little more closely now that he'd taken a less hostile stance. "Who is this Mr. Sanchez? We'd like to quote him in our article."

"Sanchez be the ownuh a' this joint, a coyote,, man. He know mo' 'bout this mess than I do. Y'all should talk t'him. I just be a _legitimate businessman_ , stoppin' in for some drank."

"Thank you, Mr. Franklin."

"You know what, tho', I could take y'all two to Sanchez's office. Me and him is tight."

"That'd be great, Franklin. Thank you for your time." Judy said, finishing a note on her notepad.

Franklin opened the door, revealing a dark alcohol joint inside. Some rap music from Kendrick Llama was blaring over a boombox in the back. A whole host of large predators were getting drinks at booths, tables, pool tables, and the bar. Most of them were wearing some sort of gang color, and the majority had some sort of weapon on them. However, one fennec fox sitting at the bar with a baseball bat noticed Nick walking in. And Nick noticed him, quickly making a slashing motion at his throat to tell him to cut it out. Finnick kept his mouth shut, but he shot a look at his former partner that told him 'You better not be running a sting'.

"Ey' Sanchez. Got these two repo'ta's here. Want to ask you 'bout some vandalisms."

The coyote was busy filing some taxes at his desk. "Vandalisms? What, you mean the one on the front door, homes? That hit from Nine-Two-One?"

Judy scribbled ' _Nine-Two-One, not Nine-hundred and Twenty One'_ on her notepad. ' _Possible gang name'_

"Yeah, that. Say they from MICE news."

"Ta hell with it, homes. Send 'em in. Any publicity could help."

Nick and Judy shuffled into the room, and as Nick had feared, the coyote remembered him. And the fact that he was a police officer.

"Hey, thanks homes. Talk to you later, Frank." He said, gesturing Franklin out the door. As the door closed and locked behind the tiger, the coyote turned his attention to Nick specifically. "Nicky. Drop the act. I know you two's is cops. What are you doin' in my bar, ese? You know I ain't done nothin' illegal. Hell, I even banned drugs inside the Flying Fish. That's more than most bars in this area can say. What'chu want?"

"Look, Sanchez, we're not here to bust _you_ or anybody in this bar. We're just looking to stop whoever is doing this string of Vandalisms on Sahara street. We're here to help, understand?"

"I get you, homes. First, I want to ask you something, though. One day, I know you, you selling popsicles on the street, being an average hustler with your boy Finnick out there. Then suddenly _you_ get hustled by this mommasita over here-" the coyote gestured to Judy, who had a slightly offended look on her face. "-and all of a sudden, you're in blue now? What gives, Nicky? You goin' soft? Lookin' to settle down with the _conejo_ here?"

"That's not what that's about, Sanchez! Things came up, okay? Now if you want Nine-Two-One, whoever the hell that is, to stop robbing your bar and spraypainting on your door, you can help us out by making our jobs a little easier!"

"Mr. Sanchez, if I may…" Judy said, standing up on her chair. "You _do_ know that the police can give you additional funding as a reward for helping an officer solve a case. And banning drugs in this place, that's very commendable. The ZPD would just give you the funding. You wouldn't even have to display a sign that says that you support the ZPD. You just have to help Nick and I out on this one case, and boom. Five thousand extra a month is yours. But only if you give us a paw."

Nick looked over at Hopps. ' _Sly bunny'_ he thought to himself, a small smirk crossing his face, before he noticed he had perhaps been staring at the bunny for a few seconds too long, and with too much of a pleasured look on his face.

"Hey, Nick. Nick! Ese! Tu esta con los vivos?"

Nick's ears snapped up, and his eyes went back to Sanchez.

"Yeah, right. Things came up. Anyway, your _partner's_ offer does sound very appealing to me. So, I'll give you some help" The coyote said before handing them a VHS tape. "Now I ain't no _pendejo_ , so I took a look at that footage. You only get the portion from four nights ago. That's when I was vandalized. Look for a Zebra dressed in a red snapback and black shirt and shorts. He also got a black bandana, wearing it over his face. Camera ain't high resolution enough to get his eye color, but I did notice some scar on his left leg. Besides that, I figure that this guy is runnin' with a new crew, Nine-Two-One. I heard the name fly around a couple times when I was bartending. What I can tell you is that this ain't no street artist banksy bullsh*t. This is part of a larger operation."

Judy scribbled all that down on her notepad. "Thanks. Are you sure you're going to be safe, Mr. Sanchez?"

"I ain't affiliated with no cartels or nothing. I'm on good terms with all my customers, and this prick ain't no customer. Besides that, my customers are on good terms with me. I know people from rival gangs who both respect me. F'worse comes to worse, I'll be protected by my homies. Other than that, I do no illegal shit. I just keep the beer flowing and the fish cooking."

"Got it. Thank you for your help, Sanchez. You've done Zootopia a great service."

"No problem, conejo. And Nick."

Nick made eye contact with Sanchez. "Yeah, Sanch?"

"You remember where you came from. I'm glad to see you're working with the law now, homes. But try to remember what my amigo Carlos told you the day before he got taken out. Ain't no kid dream of a life of crime. They just get roped into it."

Judy hadn't heard that phrase before. But she did freeze a bit. This coyote did have a point, and it was one she hadn't considered before. She shook it off, and returned to work, but kept it in the back of her mind as she walked out of the bar.

Finnick stopped the two on their way out, grabbing Nick's shoulder. "Nick. What the hell was you doin' at the Flyin' Fish? You tryin' to get me arrested? Is that what this is?"

"Finnick, calm down, that's not-"

"You got three seconds to tell me what the hell you was plannin'!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down. I was sent in to investigate the graffiti, nothing more."

"Okay, so you and yo' girlfriend over there decided to snoop around with Sanchez then?"

Nick sighed for a moment, getting red underneath his fur. "You know what, Fin? Yeah, she _is_ my girlfriend now." He admitted, much to Judy's surprise, pleasure, and awkwardness. " And we decided to Snoop around with Sanchez because if you hadn't noticed, there's graffiti on the door! And we have suspicions of a larger gang growing in the area."

"Who, Nine-Two-One?" Finnick said, looking up at his former partner a little calmer now.

Judy piped up. "How did you know that?"

"Those tha' bastards that hit up my baseball shop, man! It was some Okapi a couple days ago,, smashed the window in with an iron rod, spraypainted 921 on the door! ZPD goin' after them?" The fox asked, enraged at this new gang.

"You run a baseball shop now?" Judy asked. "I thought you hustled."

"Hey, Judes, look. Ya' boyfriend here been sendin' me some of that unfiled money 'a his to set up a legitimate business. After he left the game, I figured it was time for me to move on, too."

"Yeah, sorry I didn't exactly tell you that, carrots. But, I thought it was a Zebra doing the taggings" Nick stated.

"Nah, blood. I saw an Okapi, clear as day. They ain't never use the same person twice. I know 'cause I got hit up twice. Second time was the Okapi. First it was some kinda deer."

"Wait a minute… The flying fish is owned by a Coyote…"

"Great detective work, rabbit, what's it do?" The angry fennec said.

"Hey, give her a moment. Let her figure this out" Nick said, putting a paw on her shoulder.

"You're a fox… Finnick, any other businesses hit by Nine-Two-One?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, four."

"What were the species of the owners?" Judy asked, readying her pen.

"There was a lion, a cheetah, some bear got his mattress shop trashed, and one raccoon got his gas station tagged" Finnick rattled off.

"Mhm, I heard that raccoon got his apartment trashed too" Nick chimed in.

"No way, really? Dude got his home merc'd?"

"Nick, how did you know that?" Judy asked.

"Uhmm…. Yeah, about that…"

"Ah, damn, Nicky. You gotta spill the beans to her" Finnick said, starting to laugh.

"Beans about what? What've you been hiding?" Judy asked.

"It… It's nothing, Judy" Nick replied, fumbling for words.

"This boy lives in a run down basement of an abandoned warehouse, Judes! Right on Sahara Street!" Finnick interjected, laughing heartily now.

"Finnick, I didn't need-"

"Oh my god, Nick! Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Judy-" He said, using her real name, like he did whenever he had to be serious with her. "I just didn't want you to feel bad for me or anything."

"Well, Nick, I'm worried! Especially now that I'm seeing a connection. All the places being hit are Predator owned shops. Not only that, they're being hit by prey animals, and what is the ratio of Prey to Predators in Zootopia, Nick?"

"Nine… to one." He said, folding his ears back as he listened and failed to console his bunny. "It's a play on words, isn't it… Nine-Two-One is a prey supremacist group, that what you're saying?"

"Yes! Nick, you deserve better than this place. I won't have you living here. No offense, Finnick."

"None taken, Hopps, I got myself an apartment far as possible from this run down street. Five blocks away, in fact. Couldn't find a shop space away from it, though. Shop spaces be gettin-"

Finnick was cut off by the sound of a fire truck whizzing by.

"We have to respond. Let's go, Judy."

Immediately, the pair rushed into the Crown Victoria they'd parked in the lot, moving into the street.

"All officers on or near Sahara street. Please respond. We have a 10-52 at a warehouse." Clawhauser, the dispatcher, rattled off an address. Nick didn't quite catch the address, he was busy turning on the hidden siren system that the Victoria had.

"Officer Hopps and Junior Officer Wilde, responding" Judy said into the radio, speeding to the address as fast as she could. "10-52, that's arson."

She slammed the brakes when she arrived at the crime scene, where firefighters had already set to work controlling the fire. But a significant amount of damage had been done.

"Okay, Nick." Judy said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "You go to the east side, set up a perimeter. I'll- Wilde, are you listening to me?"

He wasn't. There was no way he could. He had left the Crown Victoria and stood, staring at the flames, as his body shook. That's when it all clicked for Judy. Finnick had said he'd lived in an abandoned warehouse. This was Nick's home. The fox stood for a moment, before collapsing on his paws and knees, tail dropping. He tried to hold back some tears as his partner came up to him from behind. "Well… home sweet home…" He said, trying to brush the situation off with humor, but to less than no avail, somehow making the situation worse as he lost his strength. On the white sidewalk in front of him were three numbers. Nine, two, one.

"Nick… Don't hide it. Don't brush this off like it isn't hurting you."

The fox started to get up. He fell once, before having to push up on the hood of the Crown Victoria.

"Nick! Listen to me. I'll take this entire perimeter. You go back to base, recollect yourself."

Nick didn't listen. He used the little strength he had left to open the door of the Crown Vic to grab his badge and gun.

"Nicholas Wilde, I am telling you as your superior, go back to headquarters. Go to my apartment, go somewhere, but stop trying to look like a tough guy. You have to collect yourself, Nick!"

The fox had finally gathered everything he needed. "Perimeter to the east. I'm on my way…"

"Nick!" Judy yelled in one last attempt before she sighed, tearing up a little. "Nick, I'm telling you because I love you, get out of here, _now!_ "

Nick had already walked away, however, and started his post on the eastern perimeter. Judy let out a small sob, before drawing her weapon and moving to set up a perimeter on the west side of the street. But she couldn't stop thinking about the pain on Nick's face.


	3. Chapter 3

Nick Wilde was staring at the wall behind Chief Bogo. The buffalo in front of him was talking in a tone very unlike his usual self. Something about it seemed softer, perhaps even a little sympathetic. But it was just a dull hum in the back of his mind to Nick. Other thoughts were rushing through his mind. He had no home. He had no place to go. And as far as he knew, Nine-Two-One was probably looking to kill him.

"Nick. Officer Wilde!" The buffalo said, raising his voice a little.

Wilde turned his attention away from his thoughts for a moment. "Yeah, Chief?"

"I understand that this has been a difficult day for you. I am willing to help you in any way I can. Officer Hopps here-" He said, gesturing to the rabbit sitting next to Nick, "-is willing to let you stay at her apartment."

"Chief…" Nick started.

"Wilde."

"I can't do that. As far as I can tell, I have a target on my back with Nine-Two-One. Judy, I don't want to put you at risk."

"We can account for that, Wilde. Guards can be posted" Chief Bogo offered.

"Nick, where else are you going to go?" Judy asked, putting a paw on his arm.

"There are hotels, carrots. I'll figure it out. Is there anything near HQ?"

"Nick, just stay with Judy. It'd cost the ZPD less money, and there'd be someone there to look after you."

Judy looked up at Nick with her violet eyes, ears drooping against the back of her head, begging him to stay the night. She just wanted to take care of the fox she'd grown to love. "Nick. I'll be safe. I just want to make sure you'll be okay." She put a paw on his arm.

Nick sighed. "Yes, sir. I'll stay with carrots."

"Good. The ZPD will give you a pay raise to account for your damage, and for your own safety, we are pulling you two off the Nine-Two-One case."

This made Nick stand up, blood starting to boil. "I'm sorry, Chief, but let me get something out of the way, I am not afraid of them!"

"Wilde-" Bogo started, his temper starting to fade.

"I know what you're going to say, but if this gang wants to burn down _my_ house, I want to be the one who arrests them!"

Judy stood up, trying to put the fox back in his chair. "Nick. Calm. Down."

"Wilde, I understand your anger, but this is insubordination. Stand down immediately."

The fox couldn't help but clench his fists, but he knew that if he went any further, he'd be risking his job, the one he'd worked so hard for. He sat down. "Understood, sir."

"Now, Wilde. You've gone through a traumatizing event. Understandably, your head is not in the right place at the moment. Nine-Two-One, based on what Hopps has told me, is a violent Prey supremacist group. First off, you are going to take at least one day off. Paid leave. You have no reason to complain. Second, if you do not feel like your head is right after that day off, you ask for more up until two weeks. At that point, we'll need you back. Understood?"

Nick tried to unclench his teeth, and slumped in the office chair in defeat. "Understood, Chief."

"Good. I want you back with the ZPD as the same sarcastic, quick-witted, wise-assing fox that the department knows and loves." Chief Bogo said, earning a small chuckle from Nick before he returned back to his more depressed state. "One more thing. My wife and I would like to invite you to dinner tomorrow at 7:00. There's something I think I should show you."

"Would you like me to come too, Chief?" Judy asked.

"Sorry, Hopps. This is something that I think needs to be handled between Wilde and I in private. My wife can cook you some fish and cicadas, Nick. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah, Chief. That sounds great. Thanks for the generosity."

"Of course, Nick. Anyway, it's already dark out. You two are dismissed. And Wilde!"

The fox stopped as he opened the door. "Yes?"

"Try not to think about it too much. You have the entire ZPD behind you. We take care of our own."

Nick realized that Bogo had a point when he left the office; any officer who wasn't on duty was waiting downstairs for him to offer support. He put on his shades to hide the fact that he was tearing up, but Judy saw right through it like she always did. The other officers gave their condolences, offered support, and told Nick they were there for him as he passed by every single one of them. He felt flattered. He'd never had a group like that, that supported him and treated him like family. But while it did feel good knowing that he finally had a band of people to be there for him, he couldn't be happy. His house had gotten torched, he had a target on his back, and now he had to take a day off and put the one girl he loved the most in danger just by being around her. Nick followed Judy into her car, and fastened the seatbelt for the ride home.

"Nick…" the rabbit said, putting her paw on the fox's knee. "I'm so sorry about what happened today. I just want you to know something… I love you."

Nick's ears perked up a bit when he heard this. "You really mean that?"

The Rabbit's eyes watered a bit. "Of course I do. Every day, I can't wait to go to the ZPD and see your face. I've been angry about things some days until I see you happy. Then, for some reason, _I'm_ happy. And after your house got destroyed by those low-life thugs… seeing you crushed like that… the conditions you were living in in the first place… it crushed me, Nick." The bunny couldn't help but start to cry, and she leaned into Nick. "I just want you to know that someone loves you!"

"Honey… no, no, don't cry for me."

"I have to cry for you, Nick. You always hide your feelings away, and I can see how much pain you go through. But you're always hiding. Even now, when it's dark outside and you're inside a car, you have those shades on."

Nick fumbled for the shades and took them off, revealing tired eyes. "Judy… I can see how much you care about me. I've never had anyone else care about me like you do, save for my own mother. You know what, carrots?" Nick leaned in closer to Judy. "I love you too. More than the world." He leaned his mouth closer to the rabbit's, and before they drove to Judy's apartment, they shared a rather long, passionate kiss.

"Oh, Nick. I never thought I'd get to see this side of you." Judy said, smiling and wiping a tear.

"Of course, carrots. I don't open up to many people. But I know you love me more than anyone has loved me before. And I am so glad I met you."

The car ride home was silent. Judy couldn't stop but wonder what was going through Nick's mind. She couldn't help but remember the taste of Nick's lips, how much she loved that taste. How much she loved him. She hated to see the fox sad like he was. But Nick was starting to feel a little better. His house was gone. That hit him pretty hard. But it showed him that he had a family in the entire ZPD. And even better, it showed him how much his bunny, the one that he loved so dearly by this point, loved him back. And as an added bonus, she _was_ letting him stay at her house. When the two finally got up to Judy's apartment door, Nick turned to his partner. "Thank you so much, Carrots."

"Of course, Nick. Anything for you."

She opened up the door to her apartment. It wasn't the biggest place, not by a long shot. It was only two rooms, a bathroom and a combined kitchen and bedroom. Nick had been there before, so he wasn't exactly surprised. But there was one thing, a small envelope on the counter.

"Uh, carrots, what's that envelope?" Nick asked.

Judy walked up to the envelope and read the note on it. "It says, 'To Nicky, my condolences, Mr. B."

"Big sent that? Odd, wonder why he sent it here."

"Hold on, Nick. It says, 'P.S. Judy, give this letter to Nicky as soon as you see him. May your love for each other not be damaged by this tragedy.' Gosh, is it really that obvious, Nick?"

"Well, Bogo and Clawhauser noticed it. So did Finnick. And Sanchez. And now Mr. Big. You know what, Carrots, want to just go ahead and make it public? It seems like it's pretty much a known thing at this point" he suggested, starting to gain the smirk back on his face.

"I'm not sure. I love you a lot, Nick, but my parents would probably be horrified" Judy said.

"I mean, it wouldn't exactly get to them."

"Yes it would, Nick. Zootopia's first rabbit and first fox police officers getting into a romance? That would make headlines."

Nick sighed. "You're right, Carrots. Don't worry, I won't hold it against you or anything. But, I do have one question."

Judy's ears perked up as she pulled out some carrot juice from her fridge. "Hmm?"

"Where am I supposed to sleep? There's only one bed here. If you have some extra sheets, I can set up something in the shower."

"Oh, no, Nick, you don't have to do that. I'll take the shower."

"No, Judy, I'm the guest, I insist."

Judy's ears flattened on the back of her head. "Okay... I took a shower back at the HQ locker room, and the shower should be dry. Here-" She said, reaching under her mattress to pull out an extra pillow and sheets, putting them into Nick's arms. "Go ahead. It's all yours for the night."

"Wait, Judy. We forgot to open the envelope."

"Oh! Right!" Quickly, Judy grabbed the envelope and opened the flap. Inside the envelope was a check.

"Ooh, money. Haven't seen any of that since my hustling days, carrots"

"Well, at least I can see _you're_ returning to your normal self" Judy said as she smiled and rolled her eyes. She took the check in her paws before gasping in shock. "Nick, this is a check for eight thousand dollars! This pays the rent for almost half a year!"

"What a shame, I was hoping for nine thousand." He said with the sly grin back on his face.

"Nick, you can get a new apartment with this!"

"Oh, no, Carrots. I want to give that to you. You're doing me a huge favor."

"Nick, Mr. Big gave this money to _you_. It's _your_ money. I wouldn't feel right taking it" She said, trying to get the fox to accept some kindness.

"Okay, fluff. I'll see what I think tomorrow. Now, it's been a long day, I'm tired. Good night."

Nick turned to the bathroom door with his sheets in his arms. As he put a paw on the door handle, Judy somehow managed to pull him down to her and lock him in a kiss, much to his surprise but delight. Both of them turned red as they pulled away. "Good night, Judy. I love you."

"I love you too, Nick."

The phone rang in the middle of the night, waking Judy up. It was her parents, wanting a video call. Quickly, she ran a paw through her fur before answering. "Hey Mom, hey Dad! How are you?"

"Oh, we're just dandy. Finally finished getting all your brothers and sisters to bed" Stu said.

"Yeah, you know how long that takes" Bonnie chimed. "How about you, Judy?"

"Oh, it's... It's midnight over here, but I can still talk! I need to keep it down, though, I have a visitor."

"Ooh, a visitor! Got yourself a gal pal hanging out?" Bonnie asked.

"Um… no, a coworker from the ZPD" Judy explained.

"Oh, no, Bonnie, she's going to say she has a boyfriend."

"No, Dad, it's not like that." She said, lying. "He's had a rough day."

"Oh, no. How so, dear?"

"It was Nick. We were doing this case on a prey supremacist group on Sahara Street, and… well… a gang member decided to burn his house down" Her voice conveyed a lot of empathy for the fox, and she might have even shed a tear.

Stu took on a voice of suspicion. "Nick? Isn't he that fox?"

"Stu! Nick is her partner!" Bonnie said.

"Dad, he's actually a really nice guy! He's going through a hard time, and he needs someone to take care of him."

"Okay, Jude. Just make sure he doesn't swipe any of your things, okay?"

"Dad!"

"Alright, honey. I get it. I'm sure he's a _real_ sweetheart. Just be careful."

"That's enough, _Stu!_ Nick lost his home, and Judy is being a good friend and helping him out. Oh, that poor fox must be sad out of his mind."

In the background, a small rabbit baby ran up to Bonnie saying she had a bad dream and asking for some comfort.

"Oh, okay, Jennifer. Looks like we need to go. Good night, Judy. We love you!"

"Love you too, Mom and Dad! Love you, Jennifer! Bye!" Judy waved at the younger sibling before hanging up the call. She sighed for a moment before nestling back into her bed. She admired how much they loved her, and how they could show that same love to over two hundred siblings. It was amazing. But there were some times they just really said the wrong things, that day included. But Judy's ear, the one that wasn't pressed against her pillow, shot up and aimed at the bathroom door. It sounded like painful sobbing. Judy couldn't help but get out of bed. She slowly opened the door, revealing Nick crying on the shower floor. He had changed into some underwear to sleep, but he'd thrown his sheets off while tossing and turning in his nightmare. His face was contorted in deep trauma and pain. He wasn't saying anything coherent. Just painful, labored sobs made in a woeful fetal position. Judy was horrified, sad, despondent at her best friend and lover's pain. Gently, silently, she put a paw on the fox's arm. Suddenly, the writhing stopped. The sobbing was replaced with only light crying. His ears spun to a more relaxed position. She couldn't resist anymore. Slowly, tactfully, she crawled into the shower-bed on top of Nick, who swiftly put his arms around her and held her close, crying into her fur. She caressed the sleeping fox as best she could, and whispered words of comfort into his ears.

"Nick… why do you hide like this?"

The next morning, Nick slowly opened his eyes. Another night of night terrors, coming to him. The muzzle on his mouth, the various animals he'd met in his life who distrusted him, until at one point in the nightmare, Judy came in… Suddenly, it wasn't a nightmare anymore. It had become the most pleasant of dreams. It was almost as if he had felt the rabbit in his arms. And when his eyes finally opened, he awoke with a shock to find the rabbit sleeping next to him.

"J- Judy!"

Judy awoke with a start, clutching to Nick before realizing he was just waking up "Oh, Nick. Good morning. Are you okay? Need to talk to me?"

"I thought you were sleeping in your bed, carrots!"

"I was. But, I heard you in the middle of the night. You were crying in your sleep. I wanted to give you some comfort."

"Well," Nick admitted, "Night terrors. I tend to get them. A fair amount. Especially since, well… my house got burned down. I don't want to talk about it. Why aren't you in your own bed?"

Judy snuggled up to Nick. "I love you, Nick. There's no way I could have left you in here crying like that."

"I love you too, Judy. More than anything in the world" He whispered before kissing her. "How much time do we have left until you need to go to work, fluff?"

Judy looked at a digital clock that was on the bathroom counter. They had woken up early, about 4:00 AM. "Two hours, honey. Why? Are you looking to see what all those _multiplying_ jokes are about?" Judy ran a paw down Nick's chest, leaning ever so closer to him.

"Maybe, carrots. Should we move to the other bed?" Nick said with a sly grin.

"Hmm, sly fox…"

* * *

Sanchez sat in his office at the Flying Fish. Sahara street had gotten dangerous thanks to Nine-Two-One (as if it wasn't dangerous enough before). He had found out about Nick's house getting burned down, and he didn't want to leave the shop unattended. As he was just about to get some shuteye, he heard someone busting down the back door. Quickly, he grabbed his shotgun from his desk. From the shadow cast by the intruder, he could tell that the person looking to kill him was an antelope. It had a pistol in its hand, and he was heading right for the office. The coyote posted up, ready, waiting for the antelope to come into his sight. The moment the antelope rounded the corner with its gun raised, Sanchez fired.


	4. Chapter 4

Nick Wilde was staring at Judy. What she had just finished doing to him that morning was impossible to put into words. She _said_ it was her first time, but Nick had met many… well… experienced women. None of them could pull off what she did. So he couldn't help but keep his eyes locked on her small, curvy form as she put on her police uniform for the day. She did look dashing in it, he had to admit. She, of course, _did_ realize that Nick was looking at her, and decided to add a little extra performance because of it. By the time she finally had all her police gear on, Nick could barely speak.

"Looks like I have to go now, Nick." She said with a bit of a flair as she walked up to her partner, who was still laying on the bed. "I'll miss you a lot. If you need to talk about _anything_ , just call me" she declared, taking on a more tender tone. "No more hiding this pain from me..."

"I'll miss you too, cottontail. Try not to get hurt, okay? I don't know what I'd do without you" Nick replied, putting a paw on her cheek.

"You know me, Nick. I do my best to keep this city safe, just like you do. I don't do anything at half throttle"

"Oh, believe me, I figured _that_ out this morning"

Judy couldn't help but laugh. "God, Nick, flattery gets you _everywhere_ , doesn't it?"

"It got me here. And I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, darling."

"Okay-" she said, before kissing him for a moment, slipping her tongue against his with her eyes closed before pulling away. "Now can it, you smooth tongued fox, I got to get to Bullpen."

"You forgot your pen, carrots." He said, tossing it to her. "I'd also not recommend hitting the play button in front of any other officers today."

"Why?" She asked, hitting the play button, releasing into the apartment the sounds of the fun they had been having only an hour earlier. "Nick, my god!"

"I couldn't resist, carrot cake! I just love to see your face blush."

Quickly, she cleared the recording from her pen. Nick told her his plans to help patch up Finnick's storefront that morning; the two told each other they loved each other before Judy left, leaving Nick in the room alone.

The fox sat there for a while. Nick and Judy were in a relationship. There was no denying it, and Nick knew this. His heart fluttered every time he saw her, and his thoughts would constantly drift back to the way she treated him, how she could get him to open up to her.

In any case, he had some time to kill before his dinner with the chief at 7:00. Slowly getting himself out of bed, he put on his standard Hawaiian shirt and khaki pants. He noted to pick up some other clothes from a store. Considering he was planning on visiting Finnick at Sahara Street to help him fix up his storefront, he would want to wear something new.

* * *

Stopping by a Targoat on the way to pick up a green polo shirt and cargo shorts (close enough to his style without being noticeably the same, he supposed), he walked over to Sahara Street. He'd carried a revolver with him for protection which he was supposed to give back to the ZPD the previous day. If the previous day had done anything, it'd made him paranoid. He regarded any prey animals wearing black closer than usual. By the time he'd caught Finnick at his storefront, he had almost drawn the weapon ten times. Bogo had a point the previous night, it seemed. His head was _not_ in the right place.

"Finnick! I almost passed right by you. Still getting used to seeing you without an elephant costume and a pacifier" Nick teased, doing a good job covering the fear he had just walking around that street.

"Typical Nick, man. I was gonna tell you I feel for you and yo' house too, but fo'get about that, f'you's gon' be actin' all condescendin' an' shit" Finnick said, taking a break from sweeping up the broken glass of his baseball shop on the sidewalk. The two shared a quick laugh together before giving each other a high five. "Real talk though, Nick. You doin' all right after yesta'day, man? Heard all about that shit, that's rough."

"I'll get through it, Fin. It'll be fine, just need to replace some stuff, nothing too expensive" Nick said as he grabbed a broom and started to help Finnick.

"What about a place to live, Man?"

"I'll figure it out. I'm staying with Judy for now."

"Ah, I get ya'. I was startin' ta' wonda' why you be smellin' like you was half rabbit, man. Was staht'na think you two's was mo'n jus' _work partners._ "

Nick froze for a moment, a detail that Finnick picked up on.

"Ah, damn man!" Finnick said, starting to laugh. "You ain't got _no_ snide comment fo' that, do ya'? You tellin' me- no way- you two's is -"

Nick put a paw over his mouth before he could say any more. "Not so loud, Finnick! Jesus!"

Finnick broke away from his hand still busting up. "Hey man, Jesus ain't got _nothin'a_ do with this!"

"Yeah, yeah, man, I get it. I finally find a girl I love, and she's a rabbit cop, very funny."

"Ah, man, tha's… hey man, I'm happy you found yo'self a nice girl, Nick. But this jus' be too damn funny!"

"Mhm, _hilarious. So_ funny, in fact, that I think I _won't_ cut you a third of this $8,000 check from Mr. Big so that you can pay to fix your storefront."

Finnick stopped laughing right at that moment. "A'ight. Imma shut up now. Glass repair be comin' round 'bout 2:00. My girl Petunia gon' be comin' 'round 'bout five fo' some grub at the Grand Palm hotel."

"Grand Palm? That's swanky; what's the occasion?"

"Hey man, 'sides this whole nine-two-one hit, e'rythang been goin' damn good fo' me. I managed to get a sto'front in Tundratown. Looks like another one comin' at Rainforest District. Petunia moved in with me while you was at police academy. We perfect fo' each other, Nick" the small fennec said as he reached into his pocket with a kind of soft sincerity that Nick had never seen from the usually fierce animal. He produced a small diamond ring out of his pocket.

"Fin! That's great! I'm really happy for you, man! Don't understand why you're bagging on me for being with Judy, though, if you were planning on slapping on the handcuffs with Petunia" he said, getting that sly grin on his face.

"I don't know. Maybe 'cause Petunia ain't a rabbit who can kick my ass. Or my work partner. Or in denial 'bout my relationshi-"

Both of the foxes' ears perked up suddenly. "Uh, Fin, you hear something in the distance?"

Finnick looked around, suddenly worried as he found the street empty. "Wait… hell no. Did e'rybody ruin off while we was talkin', man?"

Suddenly, Nick felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Quickly, he picked it up and turned to Finnick as the distant sound got closer. "It's carrots. No, no, not now!"

"Answa' it, man. Maybe she know wha's goin' on!"

Nick hit the answer button. "Hey, carrot cake!"

"Carrot cake? You goin' off the deep end, man" Finnick said, earning a glare from Nick.

"Nick? Honey? You said you were going to help Finnick redo his storefront, right?" Judy said from the other end.

"Yeah. Is everything alright, Judy?" That's when Finnick's ears really shot up. He knew that Nick only referred to Judy by her name when things got really serious. "One second, Judy, let me put you on speaker, Finnick is right here." He hit the speaker button.

"Nick, Fin, get out of Sahara street right now" A worried Judy blared from the other end.

Immediately, Nick pulled out his revolver and grabbed finnick by his shirt collar, dragging him into a nearby back alleyway. "Damn, Nick! You didn't tell me you was carryin' a piece!"

"You have a gun? Nick! Were you expecting confrontation?"

Nick kept dragging his friend through back alleyways. "Not now, Judy! Just tell us what's going on!"

"It's Sanchez, Nick! He cooped up in his store expecting a Nine-Two-One member to come to kill him. He was right, Nick. He managed to shoot the intruder, fatally."

"Sanchez… damn" Finnick said when Nick had paused at an alleyway corner. At this point, the fennec fox wasn't being dragged around by his friend, and was moving on his own.

"He's innocent of any crime because it was self defense, but ZNN spun the report by failing to mention that the Zebra who broke into the flying fish to kill him was armed, and later they forgot to mention that he had actually broken into the bar. Nick, that ZNN report started a riot. Prey animals are marching on Sahara street to loot predator businesses."

"Fin, does Petunia work on Sahara Street?"

"Nah, man, she works at the train station in Precinct One. She's safe."

"Tell her not to come back to Sahara Street! Do you have a place away from there to stay?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, 'bout five blocks!"

"That won't do! The analysts are saying that they expect this to consume about ten blocks! Get your girlfriend and yourself to Tundratown or the Rainforest district, Nick and I will pay for a hotel there. But move quickly. And Nick! Be careful, please! The rioters are armed. I can't lose you" She said with a very real quiver in her voice, as if she was about to cry.

"Of course, Carrots. You think this is my first riot?" He said, hoping to calm her down with the suave she'd grown to love.

"Please, Nick. Just be safe. Goodbye."

She hung up the phone, leaving Nick and Finnick to their own devices. "Damn, Nick. She really do love you" The smaller one said.

"Yeah, well, I won't get the chance to love her back if we don't find our way out of this riot! So I say we should probably get a move on that so _you_ can propose to your girlfriend and _I_ can make it to dinner with the Chief of Police by 7:00!"

"Damn, you changed. All of a sudden you wants to make it on time to thangs. Funny as hell what police school teach you."

"We got bigger things to focus on, Finnick. Hmm… there, that street looks empty!"

Nick walked over to the end of one of the alleyways. Peeking around the corner, he saw a massive wall of prey animals walking in their direction carrying baseball bats, molotov cocktails, and signs. The fox quickly ducked back behind the wall, pushing his friend back farther as well. "Uh, Finnick, we have every prey animal in Zootopia coming from that street. What about the other side, over there?" He asked, pointing to another alleyway escape which Finnick promptly peeked around the corner of.

"Dammit! Nah, Nick, s'all protesters. See dat fire escape, though?" Finnick asked.

"Yeah, well, it's better than nothing. We have to take it. Come on!"

Quickly, the two scurried up the fire escape to the roof of the building, where they could get a better view of the streets below. "Oh my god" The two said in unison as they looked around.

They were entirely surrounded by prey protesters, all four sides. They were all carrying something sufficient to smash windows in, which they promptly did whenever they saw a business they recognized as predator owned.

"We're trapped. We are completely trapped. Isn't this just perfect? What are we going to do?"

Finnick, hoping to get his partner's head right, jumped up to smack Nick in the face. "Nick, shut the hell up! We gotta keep our heads right. We's is foxes, man! We can get outta this. We're smart. Now, some 921 zebra got capped at the flyin' fish, right?"

"Yeah. That's probably where the mob is going."

"Exactly. What do police do when there's a riot?"

"They set up a perimeter, standard procedure."

"Then all we got's to do is keep hoppin' roofs in the opposite direction of the protesters, man!"

"I'm sorry, but do you see the distances between these roofs! It's insane!"

Finnick looked around for something, anything that could be used as a bridge, but to no avail. "Dammit."

"Yeah. And even though the buildings seem tightly knit now, what happens when we need to cross a street?"

A ding came from Finnick's phone. "Hold up, I just got a text. Say there be a group of predators holdin' up on the roof of the Sake Mart liquor store."

"Sake mart? What is that, Japanese?"

"Korean, man. Store owner be a Raccoon Dog named Bae Yong Joon."

"That's our best bet. Where's his business at?"

"'Bout two blocks east of here."

"Okay. We just need to find a way to get over there."

The two looked around for a way to go. "We gonna have to jump some roofs, man."

Nick sighed. "I know. Well, after you, Finnick."

"Ah, hell no, man, ladies first."

"Oh, I got an idea, maybe I can _throw_ you across the gap to the next roof, you take this rope-" He said, grabbing a rope that was sitting on the rooftop. "-and I climb across on that!" He sarcastically exclaimed, as if it were a bad idea.

"You know what, Nick! F'you's gon' be a condescending prick about it, I might just do it! Gimme that damn rope!"

Nick shoved one end of the rope into Finnick's hands. The small fox put that end into his mouth and hopped up into Nick's arms.

"Do it, Nick! Just throw me 'cross this gap. You _clearly_ have the best ideas!" He said angrily through gritted teeth.

"You know what, fine! You risk your life getting thrown across a damn rooftop!" Nick picked up the fox, ran across the roof, and threw him angrily across the gap onto the next rooftop. The small fox hopped up and dusted himself off.

"Look what you did, you sarcastic idiot! You just came up with a good idea! Wait. Damn, man, you just came up with a good idea!" Finnick got to work immediately, tying his end of the rope around a railing on the rooftop he had landed on.

"All right, Finnick! I'm going to swing across and use the rope to climb up the side!"

"Be careful, dude!"

Nick pulled the rope tight, and sat on the edge of the roof he was on. He counted to himself, down to three, before swinging down and hitting the side of the building feet first. Quickly, however, he lost his grip and fell two stories into the alleyway below.

"Nick!" Finnick said, panicking and sliding down the rope to check on his friend. "You all right? That was a nasty drop, man!"

The fox rubbed the back of his head in pain, but slowly got up. "Ah… I think I broke a rib, ach… this hurts like hell!"

"Man, you lucky a rib is all you broke. I thought you damn near cracked yo' skull!"

The fennec looked to his right to see an empty street. "We got one block to go on that street, then we at the Sake mart!"

"What about the rioters?"

"Give me yo' gun! I'll shoot at 'em if they try anything stupid!"

Nick handed over the gun; he was in no condition to be shooting at that point. "Once we're on the roof of the Sake mart, I can probably give the Chief a call. He can send a helicopter or something to come pick us up. It'll be the one time I enjoy hearing the sound of his voice."

The two rushed out into the street as fast as they could, hoping to beat the wave of rioters that was headed their way. But they were short on time. Nick had to hobble along, clutching his broken rib. Finnick did his best to drag him further out, but after ten seconds of running, a mob of prey animals had rounded the corner, with a pickup truck in the center of the crowd. On the flatbed was a gazelle wearing black with a megaphone and a lit molotov cocktail. In the distance, the pair could hear him shout slogans. "My homeboy Lucky gets killed by some shop owner at the flyin' fish, and what do the police do? They protect him! Sayin' it's self defense! You know what I say to that?" The crowd responded in unison. "Nine to One!" The gazelle continued as Nick and Finnick picked up the pace. "That's the ten percent gangin' up on the ninety percent. That's the fact that they put a Cheetah in the Mayor's office when most of they citizens is prey!"

"It's called an _e-lec-tion_ " Nick said with a labored breath as he picked up the pace, finally seeing the Sake Mart in the distance. "Ow, ow- now is not the time for jokes!"

"Yeah, no bullshit, Nick!"

The gazelle on the pickup truck spotted them. "Hey, there's two of 'em right there! They was born to eat you! They was born to oppress you! Now it's time fo' you to get yo' pound a' flesh!"

With a mad fury, the crowd of young, hotheaded prey animals started dashing towards them. They only had 500 feet to clear to get to the two running foxes. Nick disregarded the pain in his rib, and started to dash wildly toward the sake mart, Finnick in tow, pulling out his gun and aiming it at the crowd.

"This revolver got five, six, or eight cylinders, Nick?" The finnick asked, wondering if he had the ammo to fire a warning shot.

"Eight!" The larger fox yelled at the top of his lungs.

"I got you, Nick! Cova' yo' ears!"

Nick did exactly that, as Finnick swiveled his ears back against his head and aimed the revolver just above the crowd, firing a warning shot that hit a storefront just above some of the rioters. It was a miracle he didn't shoot one of them in the head, but it seemed to work, and kept the less foolhardy protesters back. However, the truck pressed on, and some of the larger prey animals charged forward with even more speed.

"Nick, keep runnin!"

The two sprinted at full speed now, seeing the owner of the Sake Mart on top of the roof with a shotgun in his hand, and various other Korean predators on the rooftop with an assortment of firearms being brandished to deter rioters. Shopping carts were piled up to the eaves as a barrier along the entire storefront. They saw the two foxes running away from the crowd. The raccoon dog with a shotgun yelled something in Korean, and suddenly, a barrage of lead was put up between the two foxes and the protesters, keeping everyone back. The foxes kept running towards the storefront, and the roof Koreans kept up the wall of bullets that was keeping their fellow predators safe.

By the time the two managed to reach the store, the owner had dropped a wood and rope ladder for the two to climb up. Nick went up first, collapsing and grasping the right side of his ribcage as he got to the roof. Finnick went up second, deciding not to spend the other seven bullets he had. He turned on the weapon's safety and put it in his belt, climbing up the ladder.

"Bae Yong Joon… thank God fo' Raccoon Dogs…"


	5. Chapter 5

Nick Wilde was staring at his cell phone. For once, it was for something other than his furbook account. He had to talk to Chief Bogo urgently and discuss a plan to get him and every predator on the rooftop to safety. The top of the Sake Mart had essentially become a refugee camp for a whole host of Sahara Street's predator population, and a few prey animals who had come to the defense of the predators. 921 had really stoked a forest fire on Sahara street. It had to be fixed. Nick knew that the moment he saw a little tigress girl on that rooftop, asking her mother why there were men with guns, and where daddy was.

He scrolled down to Chief Bogo's contact on his phone, and hit the button to dial him up. He sat on one of the walls on the flat rooftop gripping his chest. He couldn't do anything that strained him too much. The rib really hurt the hell out of the fox, and he knew that if he had to do any running with it, it may be too much. After a minute of ringing, Bogo answered.

"Wilde. It's your day off. Why do you want to hear my voice?"

"Thought you'd be happy to hear mine, Chief. Although, looking back on it, don't see why I thought that."

"Enough chit-chat, Officer Wilde. I've got a riot on Sahara Street and the third mayor in a year crawling up my tail to figure out how to stop this. Why couldn't this wait until dinner in two hours?"

"Sir…"

"Wilde."

"I'll have to cancel those plans. I'm trapped in the riot"

Silence on Bogo's end of the phone filled Nick's right ear. He could faintly hear him getting on the dispatch system in his office. "Clawhauser, five minutes, hold all calls from me." The sound of the intercom button being released, and then a deep sigh from the water buffalo, followed. "What are you doing in Sahara Street, Wilde!"

"Sir, I was helping a friend of mine rebuild his storefront. He'd gotten hit pretty bad by 921."

"Did you not think that there would be a risk of conflict with some 921 members?"

"I kind of… well… borrowed some office supplies for that… namely, a firearm."

"Well, now we know where our missing firearm is. Where on earth are you that you can be talking to me safely while most of Sahara Streets herbivores look for your head?"

"On the roof of the Sake Mart. The store owner and his employees are armed, and they've set up on the roof. There are innocent civilians on the rooftop, sir."

There was a pause on the other end. "Nick, I admire that you were doing something good for the community. I'm sure PR admires it too. And as much as I hate to admit it, you _may_ have just done the ZPD a great service entirely on accident by being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Nick laughed, but then yelped in pain, clutching his ribs again.

"Wilde, are you hurt?"

Nick was busted. "Yeah. Broken rib."

"Officer Wilde. Hold down, don't move around too much. The ZPD will find a way to get you to safety by tomorrow. Tell the owner of the Sake Mart to expect police. You're a valuable officer, Wilde. Don't make us replace you. That all?"

"Just one more thing, Chief… Where is Judy?"

Bogo ruffled through various assignment listings before landing on Judy's. "She's on patrol in Tundratown."

Nick sighed in relief. "Thank you, sir. Can you make sure she isn't involved in the rescue tomorrow?"

"Wilde. Let me ask you something. Off the ZPD record. I am not Chief Bogo for now, just a rusted, battle scarred buffalo who is looking to give a young man guidance."

"Young? I'm rounding the better corner of thirty tw-"

"Nick! Just answer my question. Are you in love with Judy Hopps?"

Nick froze on the other end of the line. "Uh- come again?"

"Are you in love with Judy?"

The fox's ears dropped, and he lowered his emotional defenses for a moment. "More than the world… She's changed my life in so many ways. That bunny completes my day every time I see her… so yeah, chief. I am in love with her."

Bogo thought for a moment about what to say. "If you feel that way about her, you have to let her choose if she wants to be involved in the rescue tomorrow. She's going to say yes, Wilde."

"I know."

"I'll do what I can to keep her safe. You two need to cherish what you have together. I'm going to contact her right now. I'm going to tell her that you are trapped on the rooftop, that you are injured, and that there will be a rescue operation tomorrow. Call her. Tell her how much you love her."

"Okay, Chief."

"I'll admit, Nick. This relationship is more _unconventional_. But if you two love each other, I will fully support you. I've been married for 20 years. It's a beautiful thing, Wilde. Not always easy, sometimes it's a lot of work, but it makes life worthwhile. You find a girl like Judy who is your everything, you have to go after her. Life is cold and uncaring otherwise."

"Thank you… it means a lot that you support us in this" he said. "I also didn't know you were an actual person with feelings who cares about things like love" He threw in for a little levity.

"Okay, Nick, that's enough. If Judy _does_ come to the rescue operation tomorrow, try to keep professional. She'll be in uniform."

"It's not me you'll have to worry about, Sir. Judy definitely couldn't contain herself, she's too emotional. Sorry Chief, but I'm just too damn irresistible."

"If you two don't contain yourselves, I will do it for you."

"Classic Bogo."

"Stay safe, Nick. If you feel like you're about to do something stupid and risky, just remember Judy. That should keep you alive for a couple more seconds."

Bogo hung up the phone, leaving Nick on the roof with his fellow predators. Looking up, he noticed the tigress mother looking up at him with a tender curiosity.

"Are you… with the ZPD?" She asked softly.

"Yes, ma'am. Officer Nicholas-" He said, confused.

The tigress's eyes widened. "Wilde? I see you in the posters sometimes, and my husband keeps talking about you. I'm Mrs. Fangmire."

Suddenly, Nick's heart melted. "Is that cub-"

"His daughter? Yes."

Nick stood up and moved over to the tigress.

"Does your husband know you're here?"

"No. My phone is still at the house. He's probably worried sick about us. He knows we were coming here to visit my mom today. I don't want my baby to worry…"

"Mrs. Fangmire…" Nick said, speaking in a soft tone. "I can call him, tell him you're all right. There's going to be a rescue operation for everyone on this rooftop tomorrow. It's going to be okay."

"It's not myself I'm worried about" She said clutching her sleeping daughter. "It's my baby girl… and Fangmire…"

"Fangmire is an outstanding officer. He's had experience with all sorts of situations. He's seen it all at this point."

"I know… they moved him to SWAT, Officer Wilde. He's out kicking down doors… running into the most dangerous situations, with men with guns looking to kill him every day… I just- I go to bed with him every night, and I have to live with the fact that every night, the man I'm holding as I go to sleep, the one who completes me, could go to work any day and… and come back in a pine box…." She trailed off, and started to tear.

"You can just call me Nick. Don't cry, Mrs. Fangmire…" Nick offered the tigress a hug, which she took gladly, crying on his shoulder. "It's okay, Mrs. Fangmire. The SWAT teams are trained extensively to handle everything. Your husband is as safe as he can be." The tigress kept gripping onto the fox. "He's a hero, Ma'am" Nick said with full sincerity. "I can tell he's a great husband and father. And he's an incredible police officer." He meant it. Besides Judy, Fangmire had been a great mentor to him. He showed him around the office on day one. He gave the fox a genuine welcome to the force, and told him how to get on Chief Bogo's good side. He'd also given Nick his phone number and promised to invite him over to dinner at some point.

"He's the perfect husband… Every night, he comes home from work, hangs up his badge, and the first thing he does is walk up to me while I'm making dinner and sweep me off my paws to give me a kiss. He tells me how much he missed me, and then he goes right over to our daughter and draws with her for a solid hour while we all talk. Oh, she loves to draw. She loves it so much, and he nurtures her talent so much. He even went out to buy some art books and started to teach himself art so he could make her a better artist..."

Nick didn't know what to say to that. "That's who I want to be with Judy" he let slip, not even caring about hiding his love anymore.

"Judy is the rabbit officer, right? The one on all those posters?"

"Yes, ma'am… We're in a bit of a relationship. Well, a lot of a relationship. Ach, I was just being selfish. I'm sorry, it just slipped-"

"No, no, don't worry, Nick. I want to hear more about this thing between you two. I like hearing about young love."

"Well, I'm not exactly _young._ I'm 32. But, well… I've never loved somebody like I loved Judy. I'm sorry if you think it's weird because she's a rabbit and I'm a fox, but she's so… she's sweet, she's funny, she's innocent, and she's so kind to me! She just has this way of getting me to open up to people that nobody else has ever had with me. And every time I do so much as look at her, my heart just… it melts. Even just talking about her, my usual slick persona just falls away."

"I don't think it's weird at all, Nick. I'm a wedding planner. The only time love should be looked down on is when somebody gets love but doesn't deserve it. I've seen so many women get sucked in by smooth tongued hypocrites, but I can tell you care about her a lot. So what if you're predator and prey? Look at Sahara Street. That's what happens when you treat people differently because of what they were born to eat." She turned her head back to Nick after peeking at her daughter. "This city needs more love. Hate does nothing but destroy and injure. But love, like what you and Judy have… that can build and heal. It's harder to love than to hate, sometimes, but it's better to love. My husband has seen the things hate can do to a person, I'm sure you have, too. He gets these night terrors from the things he's seen, especially since he's joined SWAT. But whenever he wakes up, he knows I'm there to show him love, and it calms him down. He usually sleeps much better with me around. That's what love can do. It's a lot of work to wake up in the middle of the night and hear the horrible things he dreamed of. But it's worth it to me, because I make him go to back to sleep peacefully. That is love."

Nick froze. "You have a lot of insight on this, don't you?"

"I _am_ a wedding planner. I work with love every day. Just from your face when you talk about her, I know it's genuine. You'll do fine. And if you ever need help, just talk to me. I'm always here to help couples."

Nick contacted Fangmire directly, and watched the conversation between the husband and wife. The daughter was fast asleep, and didn't witness the heartfelt conversation. In any case, he supposed the two wanted privacy, and walked away from the conversation after making sure Mrs. Fangmire was all right.

Finnick had gone down into the actual store to pull out dinner for all of the refugees on the rooftop. The Raccoon Dog stood watch while everyone ate, and he watched well. Over dinner, Nick had become good friends with a Honey Badger, a Lion, a Hyena, and even an Ibex, one of the predator supporters who had been run out by his fellow prey animals. They all exchanged photos and stories of friends, family, lovers, anything to remind them of what they could finally look forward to after the next day. Nick told everyone about the ZPD's rescue plan, which raised spirits tremendously.

The sun had set, and everything was going well. Bae Yong Joon had helped set up a small campfire on the roof and grabbed marshmallows from his own liquor store from downstairs, free of charge, for the refugees to roast. That's when Judy Hopps called Nick in the middle of a group conversation.

"Ah, who is it, Wilde?" The lion asked, teasing. "Your bunny girlfriend?"

"Come on now, get yo' phones out, everybody, we need to put this on instagram" the honey badger woman added.

"Oh, yeah? What would you tag it?" Nick asked.

"How about 'Hashtag: Sahara Street S'more festival'" the honey badger mused.

"This is one messed up festival, then. Don't even have a clown" the ibex complained.

"Finnick can be the clown!" Nick suggested.

"You say what I think you gon' say, I'mma bust ya' head in" the fennec said.

"I'm almost as tall as you now, Mr. Fennec!" Fangmire's three year old daughter said as she skipped around him.

The whole group erupted into a fit of laughter, even Finnick. At that point in the riot, they were willing to laugh at anything.

"Okay, easy guys. I gotta take this call."

It was a facetime call, so when Nick hit the accept button, he smiled nice and big for her.

"Hey, Carrots! You're missing a really nice party here in Sahara Street!"

"Well, Nick, I can see you're enjoying yourself in the middle of a _riot!_ " Judy replied, half amused, but half angry. "You had me worried sick! I thought something bad had happened to you. I heard about your rib injury from Chief Bogo."

"Yeah, it hurts pretty bad. But don't worry, carrot cake, it'll all be fine" He said, getting that grin back to his face.

"Just don't do anything stupid, you dumb fox" she said, laughing a bit. "Be safe, Nick."

"I know, I know. You want me to be nice and healthy for tomorrow night?"

"Nick!

"You'll have to go easy on me-"

"Nicholas Wilde!"

His ears perked up whenever she said his full name. It usually meant that he messed up. "Okay, cottontail, I'm sorry."

"I accept your apology."

"So, I need to ask you something."

"Of course, Nick. What is it?"

The fox sighed, getting serious. "Please tell me you're not going to the rescue operation tomorrow."

"What? Nick, why would you say that? Did I do something wrong" The bunny asked, her ears flattening against the back of her head.

"No, Judy, you did nothing wrong. I just- I don't want you to get hurt. These guys, their ring leader is some ibex running around on the back of a black pickup with a molotov cocktail calling for people's heads! The rioters aren't out to harm, Judy, they're out to kill!"

"I'm not just going to leave you there, Nick! I'm a police officer, _and_ your girlfriend. I have to be there to help! Don't worry about me; I've handled worse."

"Judy, I just- I don't want to lose you…"

"Nick… I'll be safe. Just tru-"

A gunshot rang through the air, interrupting the call, as Nick fell on the ground, clutching his left arm.

"Nick! Nick, are you okay?"

Nick looked at the wound. The bullet grazed him, from a low angle it seemed. He peeked over the edge to find a whole mob of protesters swarming the shop from every direction.

On the phone screen, Nick saw Judy reaching for the radio in her squad car. "Chief Bogo! Officer Wilde is hit! The rooftop he's on is under attack! Nick, stay down!"

Nick looked around for a moment. Mrs. Fangmire was perched over her daughter, trying to protect her. The store owner and all his employees were firing wildly into the streets below. The civilians were all huddled together on the floor in the center of the roof.

"I can't do that, Hopps!"

"Why not? Nick, you've been shot!"

"I'm a police officer, I'm not going to stand idly by! It's just a graze, Judy!"

"Nick!"

"I'm sorry, Judy! I love you!"

Nick picked up the gun that Finnick slid over to him, and ran over to the firing line, gripping his arm. There was a mob surrounding the entire storefront about 100 feet out, and they were closing in fast.

Nick had 8 bullets left in his revolver, thanks to the ammunition on the roof. He aimed the pistol into the crowd below, but his grip faltered. Killing somebody was a prospect he wasn't ready for. _Warning shots_ , he thought as a bullet whizzed right over his head. He fired at the feet of the people in the front of the charge. They slowed down, but they didn't stop.

That's when Nick saw the pickup truck in the middle of the street with that Ibex. He sill carried a megaphone and a Molotov. He was clearly the defacto leader of the group. His black clothes indicated he was at least a Nine Two One gang member if not a higher up from the gang. A key piece of evidence for his trial was out in the open. Nick had to get a picture.

Quickly, he jumped over to where his phone was laying. He hit the on button, and moved to the camera.

"Joon! I need as much cover as you guys can give! I'm gonna figure out who this leader is!"

Bae Yong Joon complied, and ordered an increase in fire in Korean. The fox swiftly popped up and pointed his phone camera right at the Ibex. He zoomed in and took the picture before a hot chunk of lead ripped through his right ear. He fell to the ground. The second time he'd been shot that day. Judy's heart would shatter when she saw him in such a battered state.

The honey badger rushed to him. "Nicky! You alright? You been shot, dude!"

Nick reached for his phone and showed the tough honey badger lady the photo he had just taken. "I've gotta get this to the ZPD!"

The honey badger's eyes lit up. "Tha's Ozy. He be reppin' wit' that 921 crew that started all 'dis!"

"Ozy? Is that his real name?" Nick said, getting ready to send the photo and information to Chief Bogo.

"Nah, blood. Tha's just what people call 'im. He be keepin' his real name on lock!"

Nick shot the Chief a text message with the picture. _Suspect: Ibex. Alias is 'Ozy'. Confirmed member of 921. Officer Wilde shot through right ear and grazed in arm. Send to analysts ASAP._

"Okay, it's in! Where's my gun, I gotta get back to defending this place!"

"What? Is you crazy, foxy loxy? You been shot twice, you got a broken rib, and you got a girl back home!"

"She's not back home, she's a cop just like me!"

The honey badger pushed Nick down against the floor. "I ain't lettin' you get up. You already look like you got outta' a war zone! Besides, look at your hands" the honey badger pulled them up, revealing that she'd taped them together with duct tape while she was holding him down. "You been tied up, foxtrot. Let me handle this" she said, standing up and waking away from him with a lit Molotov cocktail.

The honey badger looked for an empty space to throw her Molotov cocktails to set up a wall of fire around the building. Looked like there was a nice ring about 25 yards out that she could use. One by one, she threw the firebombs in a nice wall of fire along the street that trapped the rioters and stopped their advance down the street.

Nick walked up behind the Honey Badger. "You're lucky I'm off the job, ma'am, I would have had to arrest you."

"Sly Fox! How's it you got outta yo' tape! And get yo' ass back down, the situation been taken care of."

"What about the fires?"

"They ain't gonna spread, don't sweat it. Ain't no cars there, anybody who could afford a car done got they ass out of town long time ago. It'll jis' die out."

The rioters, it seemed, had decided to back off, at least for the night. Nick hoped that they wouldn't be back in time for Judy to come in for the rescue operation.

Finnick ran up to Nick, still fairly excited from the firefight. "Wo-hoo! Damn, Nick! D'you see that- oh hell nah, Nick, you been shot right in yo' ear!"

"Really? _I couldn't tell._ What were you doing, anyway? You gave me my revolver back."

"Ay' man, calm down, Nick. I thought you was pumped up on adrenaline o'sumthin' like that, you know, like them people who charge into gunfire durin' wars, get shot 'bout thirty times, and ain't even realize it 'till after the fight."

"Well, the adrenaline _is_ starting to wear off. Starting to hurt like hell, actually… Anyway, like I asked, what had you so excited if you didn't even have a gun?"

"Bae Yong Joon, man, this crazy basta'd, right, he be tellin' me to keep e'erybody full on ammo the whole time. Man, I was runnin' here an' there in all such directions, man, I was like a damn bartenda' for these crazy Koreans, man, but with bullets!"

"Hey, don't get too comfortable, Fin" Nick said, slumping back down against a wall. "The ZPD's coming here tomorrow to pick us all up. Thank god for that too… this rib is starting to bother me way too much…"


	6. Chapter 6

Nick Wilde was staring into street below the Sake Mart. The sun was rising over Zootopia. After a long night of helping Mrs. Fangmire calm her daughter down from the shootout and taking nighttime watch duty with all of the men on the roof (and the honey badger who insisted that she take a turn), Nick was ready to crash in any bed he saw, no matter if it was Judy's bed or a hospital bed. The chief had texted him. 45 minutes, he said. Then they were beginning their sweep. The street had been completely cleared out after the previous night's incident. It looked awful. Burn marks on the concrete from the honey badger's molotovs and bullet holes riddled essentially all of their small section of Sahara Street. The untrained civilian would wonder why they still even needed to call the police. But Nick knew that it'd be a risk to just run out onto the street and expect no confrontation. There could still have been people surrounding them, maybe hidden in back alleyways. But that wasn't his risk to take, at least not at the moment.

The honey badger, who Nick had learned was named Natalia, came up behind the fox and placed a paw on his shoulder "Ya' know, Nick, 'f I ain't know any betta', I'd say you's worryin' 'bout somethin'. Wha's up, suga'?"

"Who, me? What do I have to worry about with a handsome face like this?" He said, sarcastically gesturing to the bullethole in his ear.

"Mmmhh, nah, y'all men ah' too easy. I can tell you worryin' 'bout _somethin'_. Quit bein' a macho man and start tellin' me wha's up."

Nick sighed for a moment. He hated having to open up to people, but ever since Judy came around, he started doing it more and more. "It's just… It's Judy, I'm worried about her safety. She decided to come on that rescue mission that's coming to save us. I was really hoping she wouldn't do that."

"An' why's 'at?"

"Because I don't know how I could live with myself if she got hurt trying to save me."

"Nicky, dog, she doin' it 'cause she love you jus' as much as you love her. S'jus' a thang, baby. Y'all men think that i's _yo'_ job ta' do all the protectin' an' providin', but really, the women wanna' do that stuff jus' as bad."

"I know. I just- I can't lose her. She's so kind and sweet- She's the first person who ever gave me a chance, you know? She's the first one who saw me as more than some sly, conning fox. We just… we fit together in this really good way, and-"

"Alright, you gettin' all sentimental now, foxtrot. I can tell you's uncomfortable talkin' to me like this, so I'mma jus' leave you with this. You love her, she loves you back. Ain't much else you can do but do yo' bes' fo' each other afta' that. She doin' her best fo' you. Jes' like you wanna do yo' bes' fo' her. I'll talk to ya' lata' Nick."

It was an agonizing 45 minutes for Nick. Gunshots still rang out along the long Sahara Street every so often, and with each shot, Nick quivered Judy's safety. He didn't even pay attention to his own injuries or anything going on at the rooftop. He just kept thinking of Judy, and how he wanted so bad for her to just stay safe. That's why he breathed a sigh of relief when the first thing he saw rolling down the street to rescue everyone on the roof was the Zootopia National Guard, coming in with a tank and humvees, in addition to infantry. Chief Bogo had probably figured out by that point that police alone weren't going to cut it when it came to quelling the riot. They were still helping. Right behind the National Guard soldiers came the ZPD.

Bae Yong Joon flagged them down, and immediately, the ZPD officers set up a perimeter along the Sake Mart while the National Guard pushed on. Nick set to work, lowering the rope ladder that attached to the roof as one by one, the animals on the roof all made their way down. When Mrs. Fangmire and her daughter got down the ladder, Officer Fangmire holstered his weapon, and immediately ran toward the two, hugging his wife and giving her a long, drawn out kiss, before moving straight down to his daughter and kissing her on the forehead.

"Honey! I was so worried I'd lost you two!" Fangmire said as soon as the kiss was broken.

" _I_ was worried I was going to lose _you!_ This riot was absolutely insane, honey! Nick almost got shot in the head!"

Judy overheard Mrs. Fangmire say that, and immediately rushed over towards her, anxious and frightful to find out what happened to her partner.

"Nick did what? Mrs. Fangmire, is Officer Wilde okay?"

Mrs. Fangmire's eyes welled up at the tender concern Judy had for her boyfriend. "Oh, Judy. Nick is sort of okay. His rib is broken, a bullet grazed his arm, and another one ripped right through his right ear, but he's walking around just fine. He's been worried sick about you, Judy."

"What's he worrying about _me_ for, he was the one who's been shot. Where is he? I have to see him."

"On the roof, Judy. He's okay, he just doesn't want you to worry about him."

Judy ran up to the rope ladder where Finnick was just getting down. "'Ey, Judes. Nick be alright. He jus' a bit scratched up… an' broken… an' uh… shot. He all right, don't worry."

"Wha- How did you…"

Nick slid down the ladder, interrupting her question. He looked like he had been dragged through hell ten times over. The gunshots had taken their effect, and his ear was covered in dried blood. He clutched his ribs in pain and his left arm, the one that had been grazed, hung inadequately by his side. But still, just from seeing Judy's face, he managed to muster up a sly grin.

"So, Carrots, I'm trying a new look. You like it? I tried to go for a rough, charming rogue." He asked, gesturing to his various injuries with a sarcastic tone.

Judy froze for a moment, tears starting to fill her eyes as a tender smile crossed her face. She jumped up into his waiting arms and immediately put her mouth to his, no longer caring who was looking, as she embraced and tasted Nick's lips with her own. She broke away from the kiss half laughing, half crying, as she continued to be held in Nick's arms. "You look like a victim of a mauling, and I never want you to 'try on that look' again" she said, trying to reciprocate Nick's tender, yet joking, attitude.

"Okay, carrot cake… I won't do that ever again. I promise." Nick held her in a tender embrace for a moment, before kissing her forehead. "I'm so happy you're okay."

"Wilde" exclaimed officer Fangmire, who had been chosen as the leader for the push. "The ambulance is waiting for you. Go get yourself patched up. You've done enough for the ZPD. Judy, regroup and keep pressing forward. The National Guard wants us on their backside to keep anyone from coming in. I'll catch up with you at the hospital, Nick."

"Not if I catch up with you at the station first, Fangmire."

Judy turned back to her partner. "I love you, Nick. I'll bring you some blueberries at the Hospital once all this is done. Goodbye."

"You don't need to get me blueberries, all I need are some _carrots!_ " He said, walking away to the ambulance.

"Okay. I _won't_ bring blueberries then, if I'm the only thing you need" she shot back at him.

"Hey now, I didn't say I _can't_ be spoiled"

"Nick, stop acting like the bullet hole in your ear _doesn't_ hurt, and just get to the hospital, you dumb fox!"

"Okay, sly bunny. I love you. Bye…"

Judy pressed on back with the squad, amazed at how Nick could be run down by a mob, have his rib broken, get shot twice, and still be the wise-assing, smooth tongued fox she loved. Even after all that, him just seeing her face made all of the injury and strife disappear from his face. It made her feel amazing to know that she did that to someone. So she pressed on, getting her professional composure back, promising in her head to finish the work that Nick had started in cleaning up the riot (and hurting anyone who even laid a finger on _her_ fox).

As the two parted ways, Mrs. Fangmire held her paw over the 'post' button on Critter. She had seen an opportunity to maybe show Zootopia what the city was really built for. Armed with a video clip of Nick and Judy's kiss, she set out to get the word out that _her_ city was not about hatred between predator and prey, but love. And what better way to show the love that could be had than the odd couple of cops who cracked the nighthowler case kissing passionately after being torn apart by the hatred of the riots.

She had hated ZNN for what they had done. Twisting Sanchez's self defense to make it seem like he had shot an innocent Zebra on a whim to incite a riot was an awfully conniving scheme to raise their viewership. But if ZNN was going to spread hate through manipulative journalistic tactics, she'd have to spread love by showing the raw truth of things. Even if that meant posting a video she was not sure Nick and Judy wanted to get out.

" _A fox and a bunny show deep love for each other after being split apart by the hatred of 921 and ZNN. This is what the city was built for. Love. Not hate. Predator and Prey can get along better than they are right now. #fight for love, not 921 #ZNN lies"_

She hit the post button; at least 1,000 followers of Fangmire Wedding Services were now guaranteed to see this tender moment of affection between Nick and Judy.

* * *

The ride to the hospital was boring and uneventful for Nick. His ear, arm, and rib were in incredible pain, no doubt, and the paramedics had a field day preparing him to see a doctor; but the most incredible pain to Nick was the mental pain, the pain of knowing that he was going to be sitting in a hospital bed while the woman he loved the most was out stopping a riot.

Another thought had crossed his mind at that moment, however. Judy had kissed him. Not surprising, seeing what happened the previous morning, but she kissed him _in front of_ their fellow officers. Word was about to get out that Nick and Judy were in a serious relationship, fast. The fox thought for a moment on that, but he made a decision: if he was going to love Judy, he would do it right. He wouldn't hide her away like he was ashamed of her. He was madly in love with the bunny, and he wouldn't cower away from that fact any longer.

The doctor, a deer, awaited him in the room with a clipboard and operating equipment. A bombardment of questions, scrubbing, and pain followed. It was all such a blur to the fox. Believe it or not, it wasn't his first gunshot wound, or graze anyway. He'd had his hip grazed by a nine millimeter before when he'd been involved in a hustle gone wrong. He had to suck it up; a doctor wouldn't do, not when he was 16 and conducting illegal activities. Too many questions would be raised, and questions were something he did not want to deal with. It was a time of hiding for him. He had to hide so much that he didn't know which life was his anymore.

"It's a daym shame, officah" the deer piped up in a thick boston accent.

Nick's left ear perked up. "Hmm, come again?"

"What theah doin' out in the streets. Heard they wa' stringin' up preds in fron'na'da Flyin' Fish. 'S'a damn shame."

Nick paused. "They're hanging predators?"

"Yeah, off'n fron'na'da Floyin' Fish, like I said. I jus' don't get those Sahara Street peoples, ya' know? 'Alf of those uncivilized bastahds couldn't act like civilized animals if ya' put shock collah's around their fuckin' necks. It's a good thing we got a fine police force made up 'a mammals like you, Officah Wilde. It's a daym shame that ya' gotta risk yah life for those uneducated, rabid fucks."

Nick froze in his tracks, somewhat disgusted by the Doctor's generalization of people from Sahara Street. "Now, Doctor, thank you very much for your support of the ZPD, it is high praise, really, but I think you're going a little bit too harsh on those Sahara Street animals. They're misinformed and misguided young prey animals that are ruffled up and tricked into thinking the wrong things from a select few people."

"What makes yah say that?"

Nick cleared his throat. "I was raised on Sahara Street. Cypress Grove Lane, one block off. Trust me, Dr. Clives. This ain't my first riot."

The doctor started to laugh a bit as he stitched up one of the scars on Nick's arm. "Really? The City's first fox officah was a wild young rogue at some point?"

"Hey, you know, can't be old and wise without being young and crazy"

"Yeah, amen to that-" the doctor said, showing off a scar on his abdomen by pulling his lab coat aside. "Boston, 1997. College friend ah mine wanted ta' see who'd win in an antlah battle. Bastahd missed and pierced right through my side. Anyway, I didn't mean anythin' by the comment, officah. I'll try to keep that in mind next time."

After the stitches were all put into place and the small talk ended, the doctor left the room. Nick was technically free to go, but it was still standard procedure for him to be wheeled out to the front. Nick couldn't help but pull out his phone to check the time. _400,000 push notifications for Instagoat._ All in only… well, six hours apparently. Nick hadn't guessed the time would pass so quickly, but the amount of notifications he had was still entirely abnormal. What had caused him to go so viral in only six hours? Six hours where he _hadn't posted anything_ , no less?

He hung his paw digit over the notification, before the phone vibrated. _Mom._ He hadn't talked to her since Police Academy Graduation. He had to pick up. She must have been worried sick about him, he thought. Had she found out he'd been shot multiple times?

He answered. "Hey, Mom! How are things going over in Tundratown?"

She had used to live on Sahara Street, with Nick, but once he turned 18, he pulled some strings to use the unfiled money he had to buy a relatively nice apartment for her. She loved it, she'd always been enchanted by the Russian Architecture and constant winter season in the district.

The 50 year old fox had ignored her son's question, skipping straight to worrying about him. "Nicky! Oh, my baby boy, are you alright? I saw the video of you on the instagoat! You looked like you'd been shot!"

"It's okay, Mom, I'm fine. Well, no, I was shot twice, but I'm going to live- wait, there's a video of me on Instagoat?"

"Don't try to change the subject, Nicky! Do you need me to bring you a sandwich or something? Maybe some blueberries for your new bunny girlfriend?"

"Wait, girlfriend" Nick exclaimed, shocked. How did she know?

"Oh, don't pretend I'm completely incompetent with technology, Nicky; I saw your little video on the instagoat. You using that suave, cool line on that little rabbit, trying to make it seem like everything was okay before she started eating your lips like _she_ was the predator. Oh, Nicky, it was the cutest thing I've ever watched. Shared it with all my followers, too."

Nick sat in silence, stunned for a moment. "Mom. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, and I'm sorry that she's a rabbit, but some things came u-"

"What are you apologizing for, Nick Knack? I didn't raise you since I was 18 so that you could live like a lonely bachelor for 32 years. I'm happy for you. _She better be treating you right, though. No girl, vixen or otherwise, is going to hurt_ _ **my**_ _Nicky baby._ " There was a sound of metal rubbing against metal in the background.

"Mo- mom? Are you sharpening a knife?" It'd become a habit of her's to do that whenever she had to get a point across over the phone, a habit he'd been trying to break her of.

"What? Oh, me, I'm just chopping some onions for both of your sandwiches."

"Mom, you don't-"

"Is she okay with mustard?"

Nick had to pause for a moment to take in the absurdity of the situation. He'd just had his home burned down, his childhood district descended into riots, his life nearly ended twice, his best friend was proposing to his girlfriend, he'd found the girl of his dreams in Carrots, and now possibly the whole city knew about it. And here his mother was, taking it well, almost _too_ well for it to be good.

"Yeah… mustard."

"Oh, and Nicky, I want you and your new girlfriend to visit me more often. I want to see the happy mother of my soon-to-be grandkits."

"Ach- no, Mom, it's not like that at all-"

"Oh, give it a year, Nicky, she'll practically be begging for your kits."

"Mom, Jesus!"

"Don't think you won't fall into it, Nick! Now, I have to go. There's a hot tiger dancer coming to take me to a nightclub in five minutes."

Nick pulled away from his phone. "Nightclub? Mom, I thought your hip-"

"My hip was just an excuse to keep your Uncle Larry out of the house three months ago. Besides, just because I'm an old lady doesn't mean I _can't_ have a nightlife. Goodbye, Nicky baby, I love you."

Nick just sighed and put his paw to his forehead. "Yeah, okay, love you too, Mom."

That's when Judy walked up to him from a police cruiser and nervously held his hand. That's when he looked up to all the eyes in the hotel lobby staring at the two. He remembered his promise to himself. He wouldn't hide the relationship away. He pulled her into a tight embrace, much to her surprise, but delight.

"Judy! You're okay. Thank god. I was so worried about you!"

"I was worried about you too, you dumb fox! Why did you have to go and get yourself shot?"

"I don't know, carrots. Maybe I did it just to worry you."

The bunny scoffed before leaning in to nuzzle him. "You _would_ do that, Nick."

"No, I wouldn't, carrot cake. Not because I love you, it's just too much work for the sake of a joke."

"Oh, just quit while you're ahead, fox" Judy said, lightly punching his arm, before letting out a tear of joy.

By this point, half the animals in the lobby had their phones out to make sure that this was, in fact, the kissing couple in the video. Judy turned around and saw this. "Uh, Nick… there was this video-"

"Yeah, babe, I know. My mom called me."

Judy looked up at him, worried. "Nick, what if we get pushback for this?"

"Then we get pushback. So what? It's not their relationship. It's ours."

"Oh, Nick." Judy clenched her heart. "As crazy, idealistic, and cliche as that sounds… I think we can do that."

"Of course we can, Carrots." Nick said, smiling and pulling her into a nuzzle. "You just said we can do it. And you're _always_ right."

"Am I always right?" Judy asked, before answering. "Yes. Yes I am." She pulled him into another kiss, before wheeling him out of the front doors to the cruiser.

But the small crowd that had formed in the lobby did something the two didn't expect. As the two walked out of the hospital, mammals of all types, small, large, predator, prey, had all banded together. Even a small group of predators and prey who were hospitalized from the riots got together. They all clapped and applauded the two on their way out. It was hope. It was a dream that the love they showed could bridge the gap between predator and prey. And to all who witnessed the two in that hospital lobby, it was beautiful.


	7. Chapter 7

"So… looks like everyone knows about us now, carrots. Guess we need to start getting the disguises ready, looks like the tabloid people are gonna be all after us. So what do you say I dress up as a charming, rich billionaire, and you put on glasses and a fake mustache?"

Judy just kept on staring out the window of their apartment.

"Carrots?"

She snapped out of a trance, getting a bit of a jump. "Oh… Um… sorry, I was a little bit… lost… in my thoughts."

Nick's expression got more serious. "Carrots, you alright?"

"Yes, nick. It's just been a bit of a long few days. I was… really worried about you, Nick."

He put on a sly grin, trying his usual antics to cheer her up. "Oh, Judy, you didn't need to worry about me. I was having lots of fun, playing dodgeball with molotovs, roasting marshmallows over burnt cars. It was like summer camp, only more…" Nick made a dramatic gesture as he searched for his word. "...Apocalyptic."

Something was off about Judy. She didn't laugh, or feign anger, or try to come back with a quip. She was still completely serious. "Nick… I'm not joking around here."

His grin dropped, and gave way to a softer, more concerned side. "Judy…" he started, putting a paw on the back of the rabbit's head, stroking her ears. "You and I both know you are terrible at bottling things up." With a scratch at her ears, Nick tried to edge the truth out of his girlfriend. "What's bothering you?"

A moment of silence passed. A small tear started to roll down judy's cheek, but it wasn't accompanied by any audible crying. "After we managed to get you down from the top of the Sake mart, we had to keep pushing on behind the national guard, all the way to the center of Sahara Street. Right into the heart of the 921 operation... "

Nick could tell by the rabbit's tense muscles that a difficult memory was coming up. He pulled her in, knowing it'd help her out just a little bit. He could read this bunny like a book.

"Nick… they were hanging them."

Suddenly, Nick remembered what the doctor had told him. Stringing up predators.

"They just… hung them from the traffic lights, Nick! I… I can't shake the images of those lifeless bodies… I can't believe that someone was cruel enough to do that."

Now she was audibly crying.

"I… I can't stop thinking that it could have been you, Nick! It could have been you that was hanging from the traffic light! I… I can't stop thinking about it, and I just… I'm just worried! What if they're after you, Nick!"

Nick stopped her worrying by leaning into her and pressing his muzzle to her own. Letting their lips touch. Letting their tongues taste each other in a way that soothed the bunny. Nick had hoped it was the right action.

It was. The bunny instantly melted in his arms. It was actually Nick who had to break the kiss to get his next point out. "Judy… you see that street over there?"

He pointed out the window to the overlooking view of Sahara Street that lingered three miles away. "I grew up on that street. I've seen supremacist groups like 921 pop up all the time, in and out like that, for years on end. You know what that taught me?"

Judy just wiped away her tears.

"It taught me how to deal with knowing that I wasn't safe everywhere I walked. It taught me how to see some pretty ugly sights, and learn how to distance myself. That at the very least, there was one street where I had a target on my back. I learned how to watch my back. It's how I managed to get to the rooftop on time. I saw the signs, Carrots. Even if they do target me… they won't get to me."

Judy looked up at the fox, confused and heartbroken that he'd dealt with these groups in his childhood. Angry at the world for making her fox feel threatened all the time on that street.

"But the thing you've got to realize about those mammals is that those ones, charging down the street looking to earn their red hoof paint… they're always going to be around. You can have all the inclusion initiatives and peace rallies in the world, but there will always be one person looking to get a fancy new elbow web tattoo. You can't be surprised when they crop up. You just need to remember that the world isn't perfect."

The bunny was lost in her thoughts. A part of the look on her face seemed to convey a question. Who had done this to him? Who had molded his mind to let him nonchalantly accept these hate groups as something that was normal, even inevitable?

 _Who had done this to her Nick?_

Nick seemed to read her mind. And he knew the answer. But that wasn't Judy's pain to have. It was his own, and she wouldn't have to know about that friend of his who'd died all those years ago. Nick simply threw up the sly smile, closing off any further emotional prodding. He'd reached his quota for the day.

"God… that wasn't exactly comforting, you dumb fox…"

Damn. Forgot to be optimistic again.

"I know. The truth usually isn't. Just… here, let's lie down and get some rest, hop cop. We'll get some shuteye, and if you need to talk about anything… I'm here."

That was a big step for the fox. Usually, he was no Dr. Phil for talking about people's issues. But this was a bunny, the bunny he loved. The bunny who just went through a world-view shattering event. He'd do anything for her.

"Okay, Nick. Just… try not to be so cynical, okay?"

"Please, carrots, I know that it's impossible around you" he said, scratching at her ears.

The bunny just leaned into the scratches, closing her eyes a bit, the tears starting to settle down, even giving way to a smile, before she laid her head onto a pillow. Nick leaned his head down to the bed to follow and-

"Ach! Dammit, fu-"

"Nick, are you okay!"

He forgot about the gunshot wound he had sustained to the ear the previous day.

"Yeah… ear wound... It's gonna be a long night, cottontail."

* * *

" _As the Sahara Street protests are now settling down, Mayor Panthera has called a meeting with the high brass of the ZPD, ZFD, Zootopia Paramedics Society, Zootopia Treasury, and the National Guard to discuss what could prevent such riots from breaking out again, what all departments have learned from the riot, and what actions should be taken in the event of another such riot rising in the streets. But the leadership figures of Zootopia are not the only ones commenting in the aftermath of the event. In an interview with Z News on her latest album, 'Instincts', she gave a few words on the riots."_

"This is just like the hatred we saw a whole year ago with the Nighthowler case. I don't understand why this doesn't stop. All I know is that Zootopia shouldn't just be about tolerance. Simply tolerating each other doesn't leave for a very strong bond. We need to understand each other, and more importantly, we need to love each other."

" _Award winning rapper J. Mole had this to say about the event shortly after releasing his newest single, 'Divide'."_

"Hey, i's our responsibility to show mammals up here, mammals want beef, mammals want drama, young kids be gettin' brainwashed by these streets lookin' fo' gunfights and prison cells; f*ck that! We comin' togetha'. An' tha's what i's about. It ain't 'bout no one race, no one species bein' the sh*t, thinkin' they above sh*t, nah, man, i's about comin' togetha', i's about love, man: real, genuine, mothaf*ckin' love in this city. An' tha's wha's missin."

" _And when it comes to love between species, a certain pair of ZPD's finest, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, famous for cracking the Nighthowler case last year, were caught in what many former Sahara Street protesters called, an 'eye opening moment' on film. The video quickly went viral, creating the hashtag sensation, #lovedonttolerate. Many have left comments of support on the video, but some backlash has been heard, especially from Klaus Andorra, the Ibex leader of 921, who is currently awaiting his trial behind bars. Andorra condemned the relationship and those who supported it as 'disgusting, vile, degenerate, and against the laws of nature'. The couple has not been reached for comment yet."_

* * *

Sunlight pouring in through the apartment window…. The warm feeling of sheets and soft fur surrounding his body… the drowsy bliss of slumber slowly being lifted…. The annoying screech of an alarm clock… and the hind paw of a bunny kicking his face.

Yes, the sensations of waking up got much more mixed once the seconds ticked down to 6:30 AM.

Judy immediately sprang out of bed and, in what seemed to Nick like a dead sprint, ran into the bathroom and got ready for her day in record time. By the time she was done, Nick had just managed to open his eyes… slightly.

"Ugh… Nick. Nick! Come on, Nick!"

The fox mumbled something incoherent, probably a complaint or sarcastic comment.

"Don't try to give me this 'Beauty Sleep' garbage, Nick."

"I'm always beautiful, bunny…" he said, attempting to get up on his feet, but instead sliding onto the floor lethargically. "...but I'm only beautiful on the inside when I've had my sleep."

"That's debatable. You don't look so beautiful on the outside at the moment."

"Beautiful enough for you to kiss me" he said with a sly grin.

The bunny bent over and pressed her nose to his. "I guess I can't argue with you there, fox." she said, before closing her eyes and puckering her lips, causing the fox to do the same.

What he expected was the soft taste of his bunny's lips. What he got was the pain of a bunny literally dragging him across the floor to the bathroom by his ear. "Ach! That's a bad trick, bunny, you don't just do that to a handsome fox!"

Judy tried to split her time that morning between supervising Nick and making her own breakfast. After chastising Nick for using Musk Mask instead of just taking a shower, and for spending an additional five minutes getting his uniform just messy enough to be distinctly 'Nick', and after Nick chastised her for not having any sort of predator breakfast, the two were out the door and on their way to ZPD headquarters. The walk was different this time around though. Throughout the whole walk, they both got looks. Some looks were of genuine joy and approval. Other looks made the two feel like celebrities being hailed by paparazzi. Sometimes, Nick got a slap on the back and a thumbs up from somebody. But occasionally, somebody looked at them like they were disgusting. And this early in the morning, they had no idea why.

That was when they both shot each other a look that seemed to say ' _the video'_. One more thing to look forward to. Chief Bogo having to talk with them in the office about their conduct in uniform.

By the time they got to the ZPD, Clawhauser was not at the reception desk. Some intern wolf had taken his place, and was currently listening to the radio chatter, still nervous about quite what to do. The two went into the bullpen, trying not to hold each other's paws to keep up professionalism. That worked for all of about ten seconds. Then, they got into the bullpen, and the banter started to fly almost immediately

"Look, it's the happy couple!"

"Hey, it's the prey that ate the predator."

"What's it like to be an internet sensation?"

"Sorry about my wife" Fangmeyer chipped in, the one (slightly) serious voice in the crowd.

And how the hell did McHorn manage to get flower petals into the bullpen?

.Nick and Judy both gave a drawn out sigh at the playful prodding and stomping of their much larger coworkers before a high pitched squeal of joy could be heard from the front of the room.

"Clawhauser. Of course you'd freak out over this!" Nick said, throwing his arms up in an exasperated gesture of annoyance.

"Hey, at least he's supportive."

"Oh, you two are so cute together, I just gotta say. I have been looking forward to this for so long" The cheetah said, putting his donut aside to dote over the two.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm asking this, but where's Bogo?"

"Nick!" Judy accused, punching the fox in the arm.

"Oh, he's at that fancy meeting with the head honchos of the ZPD first responders. Heard they had free snacks. Let me tell ya' my stomach is rumbling just thinking about it. Aaand…" Clawhauser said, waving his snack in a dramatic flair. "... rumor has it that we might be getting a helicopter!"

The larger mammals in the bullpen all started Hi-Fiving and stomping in celebration.

"Okay, okay, please calm down, everybody, Bogo asked me to read the announcements."

All the mammals stopped their teasing and carrying on, sitting down to get their assignments and case files for the day.

"So, first item on the docket" the cheetah started flamboyantly. "Looks like the video of Hopps and Wilde has broken five million views!"

The rambunctious crowd immediately broke out into roars and trumpetings of laughter, some pointing at the two small mammals just as a tease.

Judy, frustrated beyond belief at this point, grabbed her ears and shouted "That was _not_ on the docket!"

"Yes it _waaaas_ " he chimed. "Here, take a look"

The cheetah passed the docket over to her. _It was on the docket. First item._

"Unbelievable!"

"Aaaaanyway, Item number two, restoration efforts are going to be continuing on Sahara street. All the protesters we can find are locked up, and trials are happening today. Oh, by the way, Nick, you're set to testify in court today."

"Today? Why didn't I know about this sooner?"

"Just got the order in this morning. They'll need you in five hours. Just go to court and report in with the Precinct 3 Corrections officers."

"Ahh, great. My last run in with them was… less than stellar."

The cheetah simply took another bite out of his donut with a quizzical expression on his face. Judy shot a glance at Nick.

"Look, carrots, all you need to know is that everything I did was _technically_ legal."

"Technically? Either you _did_ or _didn't_ break the law" the rabbit followed.

"Don't ask."

Judy was about to come up with a witty reply, but decided against it, shutting her mouth just after she opened it.

"Soooooo…." he began, trying to think of how to get over the awkward comment. "You and Judy will be filling out reports on the riots until Nick's testimony rolls around. Bogo said that you could go with him, Judy. As for the rest of you…"

Clawhauser gave the rest of the officers their assignments. Some got regular patrol duty, SWAT, undercover, and a few were ordered to recovery missions on Sahara Street with precincts 2, 3, and 5.

"... and after all that, the ZPD is going to start some new Riot Control training. It looks like our precinct trains this Friday at noon for a live-fire training operation in Palette city"

Upon hearing the name 'Palette city', the crowd in the bullpen started giving mixed reactions. Clawhauser winced a bit at his memories of the small section of fake city that the ZPD used for urban training. His physical fitness wasn't exactly the best, and Palette city training seemed to highlight this too well. But some of the more high speed officers like Fangmeyer and Delgato seemed almost ecstatic to do training there again. Francine, well… she was having flashbacks to the time she managed to get Bogo furious at her for accidentally knocking over one of the plywood houses used for CQB training.

* * *

With everything out of the way, the officers were dismissed to their assignments, and the rabbit and fox made their way to their desks. Both had gotten over the teasing in the bullpen pretty quickly. If anything, it was a relief. That's how ZPD officers showed their support, through endlessly frustrating banter. So they took it as a welcome sign.

 _Guess the ZPD takes care of its own,_ Nick thought. The best upside that the job had to offer, no doubt.

After about twenty minutes of Judy catching up on paperwork and Nick pretending to catch up on paperwork, the two started to get bored and talk.

"So… you writing down how dashing I was on that rooftop, carrots?"

"Dashing?" The rabbit asked. "Please, Nick, you looked like you'd doused your fur in garbage dump residue and stabbed a hole in your ear."

"Some would call that a very dashing look."

"Oh, please, Nick, save the handsome scars look for the movies. Besides, I much rather prefer you as you are right now."

"Taken off patrol duty with staples in my arm and broken ribs?"

"No, you dumb fox" she laughed, pulling her arm back to give him a playful punch before he flinched. "Oh, right, gunshot graze. Anyway, I meant clean and safe."

Nick saw a verbal opportunity that he just had to take. Leaning in and talking a little bit lower, he shot back. "Come on now, Carrots, you know you like me more when I'm being unsafe and very, _very_ dirty."

He got her. Judy couldn't stifle her laughter. "Nick! You are horrible!"

"Cop on the streets, criminal in the sheets. Just the way you like it" he said, leaning in for a kiss that Judy gladly accepted. At least until Fangmeyer knocked on the cubicle.

"Uhmm… now a bad time?"

The two quickly broke away from their kiss, Judy unhanding Nick's tie in the process. "Uh, no!" Judy quickly blurted out.

Fangmeyer couldn't help but offer a friendly laugh to ease tensions. "Hey, I get it, don't worry. Just wanted to say a couple things is all."

The rabbit and fox looked at each other with a tint of worry in their faces.

"Wha- Oh! Oh, no, it's not like that at all, guys, I fully support… this… relationship. Don't worry about that. Just- ugh, let me try again. Nick, I just wanted to say thanks for taking care of my daughter and wife on that rooftop. She wouldn't stop talking about how helpful and brave you were. And my daughter can't stop drawing you in her little sketchbook."

"Oh, that's adorable" Judy swooned.

"That is high praise, really, Fang. I know you would have done the same thing."

"Well, it meant a lot to me. Anyway, the Misses would be honored to have you over for dinner sometime. Our treat."

"Sure thing. How about Wednesday?"

"That'd be great. Oh, and I also wanted to apologize to both of you on account of my wife's video. She asked me to send her apologies."

"Oh, it's fine, really-" Judy said.

"Took the burden off of our shoulders for making it public."

"You calling our relationship a burden, Wilde?" The bunny said in a clearly jokingly angry tone.

"Oh, boy, first lover's quarrel. Well, I'm going to get on my way. I've got to be out in ten minutes. You two have fun, but not _too_ much fun."


End file.
